Take Me Back To That Day
by SpazzyCaro
Summary: Mercedes Jones, a strong-willed college student, decided to take control of her future by transferring to another school. She didn't know that the move would also take her back to the past.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I heard some comments on my angsty oneshot (Somewhere With You) about how it was depressing because it just ENDED. Well, here's my little redemption gift. You knew a fic like this was coming!

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Glee Cast members.

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><p>Mercedes Jones let out a long sigh as she fell back on a big brown recliner. She flipped her long brown hair back so that her neck could appreciate the cool breeze that blew in from the window for the first time that day.<p>

Move-in day was never easy. Never.

She surveyed the room and saw that most of her boxes were unpacked and put away. The rest she could deal with later. She put up her curtains, made her bed, and put her blouses and most of her dresses in the closet. But she forgot about her shoes. Three whole boxes. Oh Lord, help her... That will have to wait a little longer.

Her eyes flitted to the other corner of the room. She smirked and rolled her eyes. A mountain of stuff had magically appeared within the last few hours.

Just then its creator stumbled in. Literally.

The girl's choppy bob of platinum blonde hair tossed violently as she tried to regain her balance and keep the box in her arms from falling out of her grasp.

Mercedes snorted, "You need a little help here, Noelle?"

Noelle's back straightened quickly as she tried to brush off her awkward entrance. "No, no... I'm fine." She pushed her thick rimmed glasses up her nose bridge.

"Are you sure?" Mercedes nodded her head at the large mound in the corner.

Noelle looked at her handy work and turned to Mercedes to give her a nervous smile. "Oh... this thing. It'll be gone before you know it. Don't worry." She started grabbing at the lid of another box and dragged it to her own room.

Mercedes laughed. Noelle hadn't changed a bit. She was still a quirky cute little mess. Judging from her eclectic, almost hipster style, you would never guess that she and Mercedes would become fast friends... best friends in fact. Well, next to Kurt and Quinn, that is.

She met Noelle her freshman year at Byrnes University. Mercedes loved the campus life there, she made a lot of great friends. But she knew there was something wrong about the direction she was going as far as her college career. It was something about the program there. It wasn't what she wanted.

Noelle, also a music major with a vocal performance concentration, also felt the same way and she immediately transferred to Richter University her sophomore year. Mercedes was very hesitant to let go of her big scholarship but after another year at Byrnes, she realized that she definitely needed to make the switch. Her plans were not paved out for her yet but she was positive that her future was in music. She needed a place that would cultivate that passion. She was in control of her life, so she had to make the big decisions. She had to take big risks, otherwise how could she say she really fought for her future happiness?

So to Richter she went and she knew that she had someone who would welcome her with open arms as her roommate.

After dragging a few more boxes into her room, Noelle sprawled herself on the couch next to her.

"So," She nudged her friend in the knee with a red faux suede boot. "How do you like Richter so far?"

Mercedes finished her text to Kurt saying that she was settled in before answering, "Well seeing as I've only been on campus as a student here for less than a day, I can't say much, but I'm honestly getting some good vibes from this place already."

Noelle sat up excitedly, "Yes! I know your intuition is always right! It's amazing here, you'll love it! The music program here is exactly what we were looking for!"

"Right, right, you already had me sold a long time ago. Enough of that, 'Elle." Mercedes waved her friend's publicity stunt away.

"I know... I'm just so excited that you're here, Mercy!" She got up, walked behind the recliner and hugged Mercedes.

Mercedes patted the arms across her chest. "I'm excited that you're here for me. So, I think we're ready for a break from all of this... mess." She looked at that corner again.

Noelle sighed, "You're completely right... Let's go around campus. We can kill some time before we need to meet up with the rest of the Gold Tones this evening."

Mercedes lifted an eyebrow, "Oh so I'm meeting them already, huh?"

"Of course," Noelle smiled brightly. "You have to meet your new family! There's a little tradition of meeting up at the end of move-in day. I guess we get a little eager about seeing each other again. It involves a lot of kareoke and ice-cream... and maybe a little booze." She winked.

"Sounds like my kind of party!" Mercedes grinned.

"Well in the meantime," Noelle presented an arm for her friend. "Let me take you on a grand tour of El Richter."

"Lead the way." Mercedes stood and took her arm.

After an hour our so, they were walking by the science building. "I don't know what the school feeds those squirrels, they're freaky little creatures." Noelle shook her head as a couple of squirrels fought in the tree, they sounded like they were almost barking.

"Well as long as they stay out of my way, I'll be good." Mercedes chuckled.

"I don't know if they'll always be out of your way. I swear Professor Revels, from the English department in Olin Hall is like those squirrels in human form. No lie." Noelle nodded vigorously.

Mercedes laughed loudly, leaning on her friend's arm for support. Once she was able to breathe, she wiped away a tear. "I love you, 'Elle. Have I told you that yet?"

"Millions of times, diva-bear. But I love hearing it!" Noelle pulled her in for a side hug. She looked at her leather braid watch. "Oh, it's not much longer til we have to go meet the others. Let's start heading that way."

After having visited Noelle on this campus a few times, there was one thing that she could say for sure about the school. The campus was gorgeous. It was large but it had the quaint feel of a smaller campus. A lots of trees and a few fountains and statues were scattered around. The buildings were connected by a series of pathways paved with brick, cobblestone, or concrete. Noelle already complained and demonstrated her tendency of tripping over unruly bricks or stones.

Mercedes smiled wistfully as they walked. She already could imagine sitting at one of the benches on a Sunday afternoon, reading a book, and humming her favorite gospel tune.

She was pulled out of her reverie as her friend tugged on her arm.

"We're going to cut through this field. It's the faster way to get to the music hall."

Mercedes tilted her head. "You can drink in the music hall?"

Noelle smirked and put a finger over her mouth. Mercedes simply laughed.

As they started to walk across the field, she noticed some girls already laying out on blankets, guys were tossing a football, and another group was chasing after a Frisbee. Noelle steered around the girls and through the guys, not really caring about whether they would be hit by a flying object.

After chatting a bit more about the show choir's antics, getting out a few laughs, Noelle changed the subject. "Oh! Before we get there, I wanted to tell you what we're thinking about as far as our potential set list for our first perform-"

"Mercedes?"

Mercedes stopped to turn around, wondering who else but her friend linked to her arm would know her name. Noelle was tugged to a stop.

A group of people stood in her general vicinity but her eyes immediately fell on the owner of the voice.

Green eyes.

A familiar face.

Tall but not intimidating stature.

Her mind fought to make the connection. In a split second, the name fell out of her mouth first.

"Sam..."


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: This is more in Mercedes' point of view but in the next chapter we will have Sam's side of the story. Originally I was going to let it be just all be Mercedes but I figured it would be more interesting this way, seeing a contrast between the two of them. Enjoy! Reviews are the fuel that keeps me going!

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><p>"<em>Mercedes?"<em>

_Mercedes stopped to turn around, wondering who else but her friend linked to her arm would know her name. Noelle was tugged to a stop._

_A group of people stood in her general vicinity but her eyes immediately fell on the owner of the voice._

_Green eyes. _

_A familiar face. _

_Tall but not intimidating stature. _

_Her mind fought to make the connection._

_In a split second, her mouth found the name first._

"_Sam..." _

It took a moment for her mind to catch up and actually feel the shock of seeing Sam Evans for the first time since...

since...

That summer in high school.

For a split second a memory flashed in her mind. Her front porch. Darkness. Just the gleam of his green eyes reflected by the dim moonlight. His hand tightly grasping hers. A single tear streaming down the side of her face.

But soon enough that disappeared and she was back in the middle of a field on a sunny day, her friend standing next to her with an eyebrow quirked up, some guys noticing that their game was on pause, and Sam showing clear confusion on his features.

"Mercedes... You...Long time no see." He breathed out.

She did her best to give him a warm smile. "Yeah, it's been a while Sam."

He was exactly the same and yet he was different. His hair was much shorter, a more dirty blonde. His face remained the same but something about his eyes exuded some sort of maturity. His frame was the same but he stood a little differently, less of the awkward teenage stalkiness, more confidence.

Sam's head tilted. "Are you a student here? I've never seen you around."

"Yeah, you haven't. I just transferred from Byrnes." Mercedes shifted her weight to her other leg uncomfortably and crossed her arms. She felt so self conscious, wondering what changes he saw in her. She knew that because she laid off the tater tots and started working out once in a while she lost a bit of weight since high school, but there was no doubt that she was still a girl with curves. Other than that she couldn't think of anything worth noting. Nothing especially positive.

Sam nodded slowly with an 'oh' that he didn't voice. "Well, that's great! Welcome to Richter!" A big smile grew on his face. Mercedes felt something in her chest clench. She knew exactly why. That smile. She was definitely no stranger to feeling weak in the knees when that lopsided "trouty mouth" was directed at her.

But there are no feelings, right?

No heart fluttering, right?

That was a long time ago, Mercedes... Past is past.

Mercedes gathered up a big smile. "Thanks! I'm happy to be here!" Although at that moment she wasn't sure if she was.

She felt a touch on her arm. "Mercy? We should be going now." Noelle pointed a thumb in the general direction of the music building. "The others are probably on their way."

Mercedes held in what might have been a sigh of relief. "Oh, okay." She turned to Sam. "I'm sorry I gotta go. It was great seeing you again."

Sam nodded again. "Alright. I guess I'll see you around." He gave her another grin.

Her chest needed to stop clenching.

"Yeah, I'll see you around..." Mercedes gave him a final smile before letting Noelle tug her away again.

Once they were out of ear's reach, Noelle asked, "How do you know the star quarterback of our school?"

So he was still a popular football player here too. No surprise.

"He was... We were in Glee Club together in high school." Leaving out a few details seemed appropriate for the time being.

Noelle raised her eyebrow again. "He was in Glee Club?"

Mercedes laughed. "Yeah, he was pretty good. Sometimes played the guitar for us."

"Well, that kills a stereotype. Wonder if he could join us in the off-season... we're short on male vocals."

Before Mercedes could think if that was a good idea or not, they made it to the door of the music building. As they went up the stairs, Mercedes couldn't help but notice that the building was a bit old and outdated. But for some reason, she couldn't help but think that it had it's own charm. She knew that soon this would be a regular rendezvous of hers and she knew that she wouldn't mind.

Noelle chuckled to herself. "Ah, some of them are up there I bet." They could hear the strains of a piano coming from upstairs. "Sounds like Andrew. Nicky is there too, no doubt."

Mercedes could feel knots forming in her stomach. She wasn't a shy person by any means but there was something about meeting people for the first time that put her on edge. Noelle constantly reassured her that they would "love her." But you really never knew until it happened.

Once they made it to the third floor, they turned left and met a set of double doors. Noelle pushed them open. "Heeeeeeello, my beautiful people! Looks like we are a little later than I expected."

Mercedes followed behind her into the room and noticed not two but eleven people were in the room. Two of them were sitting at the piano in the corner playing an upbeat jazzy song, a few of them were dancing along to the music, some where messing with the TV and what looked like a kareoke mic, and a girl was putting some bottles next to some cartons of ice cream on the table next to the window.

Noelle latched on to Mercedes again. "Everyone, stop what you're doing because she is finally here! PAUSE. LIFE." Everyone turned their attention to her. "May I introduce you to the legendary, gorgeous, amazing, lovely Miss Mercedes Jones!" She exclaimed with an exaggerated flourish of her hand. "The coolness of this group just got multiplied ten fold... maybe a hundred fold."

Everyone either smiled or laughed at her comment. "Mercedes, this is Richter's very own Goldtones!" She pointed at the redheaded boy at the piano. "Over there is Andrew, next to him is his girlfriend, Nicky." The girl with the long dark hair waved cutely. "That loser over there is Rashad, our bass vocal." The tall black guy winked at her. "There's Caroline, Little Miss Alto." The short Asian girl smiled shyly. "Cliff. Baritone." The boy with messy dark hair nodded. "Heather, Madison, and Tiffany. Soprano, Soprano, Alto respectively." The girls by TV waved. "Joey and Stephanie. Kickass beatboxers." Stopped looking over the kareoke song list book to acknowledge her. "And our resident alkie, Valerie." She pointed to the girl with the booze. Everyone laughed as she sassed back. "Shut up or you ain't getting any of it!"

Tiffany, the dark skinned girl with a big smile, backed away from the TV. "Okay, come on girl, let's see what you've got." She took the mic from Joey's hand and pointed it to her.

Mercedes laughed nervously, looking to Noelle for some help. "Oh no... it seems too soon. Maybe after you all take a whack at it?"

Noelle shook her head. "No, you've got to do it! Call it your audition before officially joining the Goldtones."

Mercedes rolled her eyes. "Great, well if you put it THAT way."

"Come on Miss Mercedes Jones!" Joey said in what seemed like a British accent. "From what Noelle has told us, we have been waiting our entire lives to hear someone like you!"

"Okay... fine. For all you guys, not this loser." Mercedes playfully shoved Noelle before stepping up to take the mic.

Without fail, Mercedes brought the roof down in one song and the party began in full force. There was ice cream, booze, and a hell of a lot of singing. She knew immediately that they would be a fun group to work with. She just hoped that she would form a bond with them that they seemed to have with each other. She knew that show choir could be like your second family. It seemed they were now on a fast track to making her their newest family member.

They called it a night early for college standards: One o'clock. People still had some unpacking to do, some of their parents were still in town. It was enough time for Noelle and Mercedes to stumble out of the music building tipsy. They kept giggling at just about anything, holding onto each other for dear life. They crossed the field, which was now empty and illuminated by the lights lined up along its

parameter.

"Oh man, Rashad and that falsetto bit! I don't know if I should be amazed or scared of him!" Noelle gasped. "It was like a little boy possessed him!"

Mercedes couldn't stop laughing. She leaned against her friends shoulder. "Yeah, that was crazy! That boy is something! I like that kid!"

Noelle swaggered to a stop. "Wait, does that mean you LIKE him?" She squinted.

Mercedes shot her an incredulous look. "No... I think he's cool, that's what I meant." She stuffed back a giggle. "Hold on, do YOU like him?" She smirked back.

Noelle looked at her wordlessly for a moment before continuing to walk. Mercedes broke into a huge grin. "Ooooh, so you DO like him! That flirting wasn't just my imagination!" She threw her head back in laughter.

"No, no no! He's just a good friend! He's a cool guy but I-" Noelle paused as she tripped on a cobblestone. "I just..." She kept rambling and Mercedes kept silently laughing at her. On their way back to their dorm she took another moment to appreciate the campus, especially at this time of night when it was a full moon. She saw in the distance a few guys chatting by the fountain. As they made progress across the field, she realized that she recognized the familiar silhouette of one of them. A few moments later it was clear... it was Sam.

She couldn't help but stare as he laughed with his friends. That bright smile she once loved years ago flashing even in the middle of the night. As if her gaze called him, his eyes raised to look straight at her. She knew that the situation called for her to look away, but the haze of alcohol threw her inhibitions out the window and she continued to stare back at him.

She didn't know what this meant, Sam appearing back in her life. That short period of time with him honestly felt like a blip on her radar. She hardly remembered what went on between the two of them. But she did remember that smile... she remembered those eyes. And that was what was keeping her rooted to him at this particular moment in time.

"Oh shoot, I might have left my key back in the music room." Noelle groaned as she fumbled in her small bag.

Mercedes turned to her friend and threw her hands up in the air... typical Noelle.

"Oh never mind!" She giggled. "Here it is!" She took her keys out of her back pocket and dangled them in Mercedes' face.

"You little fool! Let's go back before you start embarrassing yourself even more!" Mercedes slapped Noelle's butt and swaggered ahead of her.

"Hey! Do you even know where you're going?" Noelle called after her as she rubbed her bottom.

And the moment was gone. Tucked away just like those other lost moments with him.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I feel like I made Sam's point of view a little denser than the past two chapters with Mercedes. I think that I'll be focusing on Mercedes' point of view a little more in this story. I'm still not sure about this, we'll see! I had fun writing this chapter! Enjoy!

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><p>Sam hurried down the staircase and pushed himself out of the front door. He immediately felt the warm summer breeze and he smiled to himself. He was so glad to be back at Richter.<p>

As he walked from his dorm on the far east side of campus to the big field in the center of campus, Sam nodded to people who waved and said 'hey'. Despite their enthusiastic greetings, he didn't know half of these people, but it wasn't anything new to him. That was the life of a quarterback. He appreciated the recognition, it was a result of his hard work as a member of the football team, but he learned to not let it get to his head. His past experience, especially his high school years, taught him that popularity wasn't everything. It could easily be taken away from you and you would be thrown to the bottom. Popularity really had no significance in his life especially when it came to familial hardships. It also didn't give him the people he cared the most about.

Sam learned to be thankful for everything that he had been given. Since high school, his family got back on their feet, Sam was able to focus on his studies rather than just working to keep his family afloat. He finally overcame his dyslexia and improved so much that he managed not only to get a sports scholarship but also a small but helpful academic scholarship that paid his tuition. He was so worried about having to be even more of a burden to his family after high school, but his prayers were answered.

When he started college, he managed to get decent grades and he worked hard on the field. In his sophomore year, he was bumped up to starting quarterback. It was a huge surprise to him as well as the whole college football division, but his coach made the right call and they soon became division champs. In just one year people were talking about him and the NFL draft picks. While that was flattering and honestly mindblowing, he wasn't completely enthusiastic about it. He wasn't so sure that was the career path that he wanted. As much as college life was treating him well, the prospect of life after college seemed a little bit scary. He didn't want to tell anyone this. His family, his friends, and his school praised him too much to show his concerns. He didn't want to disappoint anyone... so he just kept it to himself for the time being.

Once he made it to the field, he noticed that two of his football buddies were already over there throwing the ball back and forth. He hurried over to them, wanting to talk about a few plays that coach told him after their last summer practice, but he was stopped by a loud yell.

"SAM!"

Sam cringed. With a sigh, he turned to the owner of the voice. A group of girls were laying out about twenty feet away. The brunette waved him over.

Gah, he was too nice for his own good.

He walked slowly towards the group of girls clad in shorts and bikini tops. "Hey girls. Hey... Megan." After the rest flirtatiously greeted him, he directed his attention to the girl sitting up in front of him.

Megan lowered her glasses to show her gold makeup. "Hey, Sammy. What have you been up to this summer?"

_DON'T call me Sammy. _"Nothing much. Working. Practicing."

"That's cute." _Cute? _"The girls and I went on a trip to the Bahamas. Wish you were there!" The other girls nodded with big smiles adding their comments on how fun it was.

"That's too bad."_ I could care less._

"Well, we're making some big plans for Spring Break already. Can you say CANCUN?"

Sam fought rolling his eyes. "Yeah, I think I can say it... but I think I'll be busy that week. Ya know, football and all that." He hoped the disdain wasn't dripping out of his words.

The girls laughed. "You're so funny, Sammy!" Megan threw her head back. He looked up and away knowing that she was probably trying to show off her chest. _Gag me. _"Well, think about it. You have plenty of time. I'm sure you can get yourself around that schedule.

"Sure." Sam bluntly responded. "Okay, so I'm going to play ball with the guys. I'll talk to ya'll later. Bye!" He forced a smile, turned and left before they could properly respond. He was making a beeline for Chad on the other side of the field. Once Sam got closer to the tall dark haired boy who was about to catch the ball, he ran over and made it just in time to intercept it.

"'Ey, that's not cool, Sam!" Chad threw his hands up.

Sam turned around and shoved the ball against the taller man's chest. "Don't you ever set me up on a date again." Sam threatened him. "You are shitty at it." Before he could scare his friend even more, he laughed and ruffled his friend's hair.

Chad backed up out of the blonde's reach. "Well, hello to you too, dude..." He threw the ball over Sam's head to the short stocky, dark skinned boy.

"What's wrong with Megan, Sunshine mah boy?" Damon caught the ball. "She's hot and it looks like you two were having a merry ol' time over there." He threw the ball to Sam.

"On the contrary. She was just bragging about Cancun and the Bahamas to herself. No way I'm getting involved with all of that." Sam caught the ball and threw a perfect spiral to Chad. "You guys seriously need to stop throwing girls at me."

Chad caught the ball. "Hey, the only reason we do it is because you don't go out there get a girl yourself! You're all work and no play. For a guy who could get any girl he wants here, you're scoring really low on the hit list." He noticed that few more of the guys arrived and threw the ball halfway across the field to their runningback.

Sam scoffed, "I don't need to score really high on your so-called 'hit list'." He made air quotes with his hands. "I don't think there's anything wrong with having one girlfriend and a few dates in the two years I've been here. Hell, I don't really care if I get another girlfriend in college."

Chad and Damon stared at him for a moment. "Seriously?" Damon looked at Sam as if just said he wanted to wear a pink leotard.

Sam shrugged and caught the ball their cornerback just threw back. "I'm just saying I'm not looking right now. Just whatever happens happens..."

"What are you women gossiping about?" Zach, their runningback sporting the long dreads jogged over to them.

"Sam's love life... or lack thereof." Chad smirked.

Their cornerback, Jake, caught up with them. "Oh yeah, Sam! You need to get you some ASS."

Sam threw a hard spiral at him. "What do you mean I need to get me some ass?"

Jake shrugged as he threw the ball to Damon, "It's called taking care of our quarterback... We need another division win." Everyone else nodded.

Sam ran a hand over his face. "What does getting any and getting a division championship have to do with each other? I was single last year!"

Chad laughed. "Still seems like a good idea."

"I can't believe I have to deal with you guys everyday." Sam shook his head.

"You love us, don't deny!" Damon laughed and the others joined in.

It was over his teammates' laughter that he heard another laugh. It was definitely not one of the guys. It was higher, it was unrestrained but almost melodic.

He knew that laugh.

Sam turned his head towards that laugh. He saw the group of girls. It could have been one of them... No, there it was again. He looked farther in the distance and saw a couple of girls walking in their direction. There was a blonde with short hair and glasses and there was a shorter dark skinned girl with long straight brown hair.

He squinted. There was something familiar about that one girl. She laughed again. Yup, REALLY familiar. The pair walked around Megan and the others, and made their way through the group playing Frisbee towards them. It was then that he could really see her face.

_No way._

_It isn't._

_Can't be._

_Is it... _"Mercedes?" Sam heard himself say.

Before the girl passed their group, she stopped and turned around making her friend unknowingly stop as well.

Ten feet away, there was no doubt that it was her. She looked so different... and yet the same. Her eyes. That nose. Those lips. "Sam..." Her voice.

That was Mercedes Jones. That girl he left years ago in Lima, Ohio.

"Mercedes..." Sam was struggling because he felt like his breath was caught in his throat. "You... Long time no see."

Her eyes that were once wide open relaxed into her smile. That smile. Something he would never forget. It never failed to give him that feeling like he was given a hug. "Yeah, it's been a while, Sam."

"Are you a student here? I've never seen you around." He knew this was a big campus, but a girl like Mercedes who made her presence known would never be going around this campus invisible for years.

Sam wasn't sure how but for some reason she just looked different. He wasn't talking about her body. It was something in her eyes. "Yeah, you haven't. I transferred from Byrnes." Those eyes looked up at him.

His mouth couldn't help but form a grin at this news. "Well, that's great! Welcome to Richter!" It was amazing to have someone come back from his past like this. When he really got to know her, he was going through the most difficult phase he ever had to face in his life, but it was also a time when he went through the most growth. He learned so much. He never regretted going through it. Seeing Mercedes in front of him brought those memories back in full force.

"Thanks! I'm happy to be here!" That warm smile again.

Her friend tapped her on the arm. "Mercy? We should be going now. The others are probably on their way." If she just transferred, how did that girl know her nickname? Her family called her Mercy. He was the only one that called her Cedes.

"Oh, okay." Mercedes turned back to him with a flip of her hair over her shoulder. "I'm sorry. I gotta go. It was great seeing you again." He didn't like how she said that. It just seemed so... impersonal.

"Alright. I guess I'll see you around." Sam tried his best to toss aside what seemed like an attempt to push him away.

"Yeah, I'll see you around..." Mercedes smiled before letting her friend pull her away. That's a start.

Oh, and she may have changed her figure a bit but...

Damn, she still had that ass...

"Yo." Sam snapped out of it and turned to Damon. "Who was that chick?"

It was then that he realized that four guys were listening in on his conversation with Mercedes. "Oh... She... went to my high school back when I was living in Ohio."

"And?" Zach raised an eyebrow.

"And what?" Sam flinched nervously.

Jake crossed his arms and smirked. "AND... that look you were giving her when you were talking NOT to mention the fact you were giving her a good checking out of her backside does not tell me that you were just classmates in high school."

He never could to fool these guys. "Yeah." Sam let out a goofy grin. "She and I had some... history." He opened his hands, asking for the ball.

Damon threw it at Sam and let out a big cackle. "Chad! You were aaaall wrong!" He stomped at the ground. "You were throwin' the wrong stuff at Sunshine! He prefers CHOCOLATE!" The other boys started laughing with him. Zach let out a whooping laugh and fell over on the grass. Sam had to hold his face to hide the blush that was clear as day. He stood behind what he said about his frustrations dealing with those guys everyday.

Luckily with enough threatening they shut up just in time before more of the guys arrived. They played late into the night. Someone started a bet. Before he knew it, it was about 12:30am. Since practice was early in the morning, most of the guys went back to their dorms. Sam and a couple of the guys from the defensive line struck up a conversation on the way back. That conversation went a bit longer than expected so they stopped by the fountain to talk more. They were relaying the defensive plays and the offensive plays to each other with some jokes about the coach mixed in.

Mid-sentence, Sam heard a laugh. There was definitely no mistaking it again. He kept talking to the guys but he looked in the direction of the laugh. There she was again with her friend, this time they looked like... yeah, they were tipsy.

"Looks like people are starting early." Everett, their linebacker, quipped.

Sam laughed. Mercedes was always the happy drunk. "Yeah, looks like it." He looked up at her and realized she was closer... and looking straight at him. The alcohol glazed her eyes over a little, but there was no mistaking the sincere connection between them. He saw it again. That look in her eyes.

Before he could think more about it, Mercedes turned to her friend and was playing around with her. The look they shared seemed long forgotten.

Sam didn't know what it was he saw in those eyes... but he swore he was going to find out.

_A/N: Reviews are my lifeblood... if there are no reviews, I die. If I die, the story dies. Take THAT into consideration. I'm all jokes (but really, they still matter!) Thanks for reading! Hopefully I'll get the next chapter finished ASAP!_


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Okay, might have lied if I said most of these chapters were mostly in Mercedes' point of view. I was actually going to have both of their points of view in one chapter but I realized that this chapter would be basically twice as long as the previous three chapters. But that's just good news because that means the ball is still rolling plot-wise! Enjoy!

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><p>Sam was dragging his feet out of the athletic building by himself. Coach was working him especially hard, going through more drills and discussing plays long after the rest of the team called it a day. He was lucky that he managed to get out of there before seven today.<p>

He noticed that Damon, Chad, and Zach were still chatting by the building gate entrance so he caught up with them. "Can I just call in sick for just one day?" Sam groaned as he rotated his right shoulder. The heavy backpack that he was carrying wasn't helping. It was just three weeks into the semester and he was already slammed with homework. It was a wonder that he actually could survive the fall semester with everything that was on his plate.

"Nah man," Damon slapped his back. "Keep that energy up. We're gonna need it for the Simpson game. The big 'un!" He threw a Tiger uppercut.

Sam sighed, "It's my luck that the Simpson game is the same week that my midterm papers are due. Dr. Chalmers will not be cutting me any slack."

Zach scoffed, "Same with my Calc test, but do I really care? Nope!"

Sam frowned, "Well, you should. It's your senior year, graduating is more important than one big game..."

"Well, I'm sorry I ain't some big nerd like you are, Sunshine." Zach shrugged and smiled at his teammate.

_The word 'nerd' doesn't even begin to cover it. _Sam laughed to himself.

Damon stopped for a moment, looking into the distance. "Hey, it's those singers."

Chad nodded, "Oh yeah, the Goldtones. That version of Freebird they did last year kicked ASS... Yo, Sam, where you going?" He saw Sam walking ahead of them.

"I want to watch." Sam replied nearly jogging over there. It wasn't long before he got to the amphitheater. There was a crowd of people already gathered, most of them sitting out on blankets in front of the stage jamming along with the music. The Goldtones were singing a jazzy rendition of Super Bass. Most of the singers were jumping around and dancing. Some people in the crowd were dancing with them. Sam couldn't help but smile. It reminded him of his days with the Glee Club. Some of the best moments of his life were performing with the New Directions. It was exhilarating singing and dancing your heart out with your friends.

Once he stopped his reminiscing, Sam got to thinking about the reason he hurried over here. He scanned the group singing on the stage but there was one person missing. Mercedes. He bit his lip. He swore she would be there. There is just no way a girl like her would not be in a group like this. They would be fools not to have her as a member.

Soon enough, the Goldtones finished the number and the crowd burst into applause and hollering. One of the girls in the group stepped forward. Sam recognized her as the girl who was with Mercedes the day that he saw her for the first time in years.

The blonde waved to the crowd enthusiastically. "Thank you everyone and welcome to the Goldtones' first performance of the semester. If you're new here and don't know us, we're Richter's pride and joy... well, second to our football team." The crowd and Sam's friends chuckled. "Our group is both an acapella group and a show choir with the sole purpose of presenting you all some awesome music. We have some of the best voices in the area and speaking of the best voice... you are all in for a huge treat." She smiled brightly. "The Goldtones are proud to introduce our newest member, transferring in from Byrnes University, she is a very close friend of mine, the sweetest girl you'll ever meet with a heavenly voice to match. I say this without bias and the other Goldtones will agree with me, this girl can SING. You may not hear a better performance in your life! But here I am rambling! So without further ado, I present... Miss Mercedes Jones." She waved an arm towards the right side of the stage and stepped aside.

Sam's chest was already swelling with pride from the introduction. None of what she said was an exaggeration. He was blown away by her talent the very first time he saw the New Directions perform at lunch that one fateful day years ago. No one could sing like Mercedes.

He felt someone lightly hit his arm. "Hey, Sunshine, isn't that the girl you were talking to that one time? The one you have a 'history' with?" Damon asked.

Sam watched as Mercedes walked on stage and took her place behind the mic stand. As the sun was setting, the spotlight shining down on her was especially bright. With her long hair in waves, her golden brown satin dress, and her big smile, she was simply glowing. "Yeah... that's her." He replied absently.

The band behind her started playing the opening line and then Mercedes began with a powerful note. She was singing Otis Redding's "Try A Little Tenderness." Sam swore he could feel his heart stop for a moment.

As the song picked up tempo, his friends were nodding their heads to the music. "Wooo, that girl can SAAANG!" Zach crooned.

"Damn, you had THAT girl, Sam?" Chad asked.

But Sam didn't answer. He wasn't listening. In fact, he wasn't really there. Sam wasn't at Richter at the moment. He was sitting in a seat in the back of the McKinley High School auditorium watching Mercedes singing her heart out to Mr. Schue and Jesse St. James for a solo audition. He was there because Mercedes was his ride back to the motel, and she was also going to babysit Stevie and Stacey while he went to work at the pizza place.

From the day Mercedes went to his motel room to personally give him her most sincere apologies for accusing him of things he didn't do... to that magical night when he danced for hours with a gorgeous woman in a fuchsia dress... to the nights when he and Mercedes would just simply talk for hours by her car in the motel parking lot... he could say that they had become really close friends. Other feelings that he didn't think he could simply label as "the bond of friendship" might have crossed his mind a time or two... actually all the time, but he wasn't sure about them. Especially after two relationships that failed miserably, he was almost scared of the idea.

But it was at this very moment that those fears were destroyed. Sam sat there, his hands unknowingly clutching the armrests with a vice grip, his heart was pounding, his mouth was hanging open, his eyes were trained on that one girl on stage pouring her heart out into the music. No girl was ever able to move him the way that Mercedes Jones was doing at the moment.

When the song ended and Jesse gave his unreasonable criticisms, Sam's awe soon changed into anger. Before he could get around to thinking that he should go over there and punch Jesse St. Jerk in the face, Mercedes marched off the stage, knocking over the mic stand in the process. Sam ran to the exit to catch up with her. It wasn't until she was out the front door to the parking lot that Sam got to her.

Once Sam put a hand on her shoulder, Mercedes swiftly turned around, knocking his hand off. "That asshole told me-"

"I heard." Sam interrupted quietly. "And it was completely stupid. He doesn't know what he's talking about. He was just making excuses. You were amazing, Cedes..." He said with complete sincerity.

Mercedes sighed and shook her head. "Well, apparently not amazing enough. Not enough for them to stop giving Rachel all of the big solo parts."

Sam placed both of his hands on her shoulders and leaned down so that he was eye level with her. "Cedes, believe me, the number of solos you get doesn't prove how awesome you are as a singer. You blew me away with your singing just now and I know for a fact that I'm not the only one who thinks that when they hear you. I think how you make others feel when you sing is more important than whether or not you get a solo. So whatever they decide, it really doesn't matter. Okay?" He gave her a small smile.

Mercedes looked up at him with eyes filled with emotion. They showed graciousness for his support but they still revealed some uncertainty. Sam fought the urge to lean forward and kiss those uncertainties away. He settled for pushing a stray hair away from her face. He noticed how soft her face was as his fingers gently grazed against it.

Sam let out an uneven sigh as he tried to ignore the pounding in his chest that came back. "Come on, Stevie and Stacy are waiting for us." He gave her a big smile.

Mercedes smiled weakly, "Yeah, remind me, I have a few of my Disney DVDs in the back of my car for them."

Sam laughed and threw an arm around her as they walked to her car. "They'll love it."

Sam would learn later that in the parking lot that day, he wasn't the only one whose heart was beating fast after his little speech and he wasn't the only one who had to fight the urge to lean in for a kiss.

All of a sudden, Sam felt a shove that nearly made him fall over.

"Earth to Sunshine!"

He was back at Richter. He saw that Mercedes just finished her solo and that the whole crowd was giving her a standing ovation. The smile on her face was as bright as the spotlight. Sam couldn't help but smile back. For a moment, he thought that her eyes met his for a moment. He hoped so because he just wanted to be able to tell her with that look that he was so proud of her... he always was.

"Forget it. The boy is hypnotized." Chad mumbled.

Sam turned around. "No, I'm not."

Damon chuckled, "Yeah, you were. If that song went on any longer, you might have started drooling! Your mouth was hanging open!" He jokingly demonstrated.

Sam turned away to hide a blush. He needed to make sure that the next time the Goldtones were going to have a performance, that he was nowhere near his friends. He knew that he'd always look like a sappy mess if Mercedes kept singing like that.

A/N: I promise that the next chapter will actually have more Samcedes interaction in the present and we'll have more on Mercedes as well. Please please PLEASE drop me a little review! They are really appreciated! Thanks for reading!


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: You'll notice they both get a lot of flashbacks. For the most part these flashbacks jump around a lot because it's how their train of thought works when they are vaguely reminded about something about their past. We're back to some Samcedes interaction! Hope you enjoy! (Oh and a shoutout to all of my reviewers so far! You're awesome!)

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><p>Mercedes tried her best to hold back a really loud laugh as she entered the campus cafe. She knew that she'd probably scare everyone in there if she let it go. "Stop it, Tiff... Oh lord, you're crazy! Stop it!" She snickered behind her hand.<p>

Her first month at Richter flew by and yet it seemed like a long time already passed. Right from the beginning, she instantly bonded with the other members of the Goldtones. They were such a strangely diverse group and yet it just worked. It was that chemistry that helped them blend so well musically and it was how they were able to have such a great time together. In just one month, she made new friends she felt like she had known for years. They reminded her so much of the New Directions... but without all of the high school drama.

If she thought about it, Mercedes knew that she grew as a person in her years after high school. She took the friendships that were broken, and she managed to mend and make them stronger. Besides her family, Kurt and Quinn were her foundation. Mercedes still talked to them regularly. She felt a little lost without her regular video chats with them. She also kept in touch with the others once in a while, maybe meeting them for dinner on their breaks.

Mercedes still kept her headstrong "diva" attitude, but she learned a little lesson in humility. The world didn't revolve around her. As much as she would love to drown in her own problems, she knew that she was blessed. She had a great family, great friends, and a passion for music. While she knew that she had to take the initiative to fulfill her own dreams, she knew that she shouldn't bother others with her own selfish needs. A diva was only truly a diva if she knows how to use her attitude the right way.

She taught herself to keep her eyes on the future and not to dwell too much in the past. She was a girl on the move, and she couldn't be bothered by problems that already took their course. Her last year in Byrnes definitely taught her this lesson and that was why she found herself in a new school. Whenever she talked about college with her family or adults from church, they would always tell her to work hard and have a plan. She took that advice very seriously. She wasn't in college to wander around aimlessly without a goal.

This semester she started exploring her options in a career in music. Performing was her passion so her main goal was to find her way into the music industry. She got into contact with local studios in hopes that she could record and she looked for possible venues to perform in. Success in that industry had a lot to do with luck, but it also involved hard work.

Mercedes Jones was a woman with a plan and nothing could sway her.

She laughed a little more quietly as she stood in line and looked through her agenda. "Okay, Tiff, I'll see you later at practice okay? You and Valerie need to stay out of trouble til then! Listen to me, woman!...Alright, see ya, pretty girl!" She hung up and threw her phone into her bag. She looked over at the sitting area to see if she could get a table. She was going to get a head start on her homework. That small table in the corner seemed fine. She turned back to the counter. It was almost her turn to order. She didn't need to bother looking at the menu because she always ordered the same thing.

"Grande mint chocolate chip mocha, right?" A deep voice spoke from behind her.

Mercedes quickly turned around, surprised that someone basically read her mind. She nearly gasped.

Sam.

He grinned with a hint of laughter in his eyes. There it goes, her chest clenching again. Mercedes fought to give him a response but couldn't think of anything at the moment. "Yeah, I remembered. Turns out, it ended up being a favorite of mine too." Sam looked down at his feet and then brought his eyes up to meet hers. With the light beaming from the window, she could see those green eyes bright and clear as day. They hadn't changed one bit.

Before Mercedes could muster up another response, Sam looked up over her head and called out to the barista. "Two mint chocolate chip mochas. Grande." Mercedes turned around and reached into her bag for her wallet but Sam quickly stepped around her and handed the cashier a twenty dollar bill.

"You didn't have to..." Mercedes said quietly.

Sam turned to her with a small smile. "I owe you one."

Mercedes was taken back to that day when they decided to get a cup of coffee together. Their relationship was really new and they were really careful about not letting the others know about them, but they just wanted to go to the Lima Bean together like any other couple. After stumbling through some lies to get away from Kurt and Blaine, they managed to get in line.

"Do you think they know?" Mercedes looked back at the pair nervously.

Sam smiled reassuringly. "I don't think anyone knows." They turned back to the front and naturally held hands. "So what are you getting?"

Mercedes smiled proudly, "A mint chocolate chip mocha."

"Really? I can't imagine how mint and chocolate together could taste good..." Sam wrinkled his nose a little.

"Hey, don't knock it until you try it." Mercedes nudged him with her shoulder.

Sam laughed and shook his head. "Well I'm going to order a caramel macchiato."

"Fine but I will get you to try it!" Mercedes smirked at the challenge. That day she won two battles. She managed to pay for his drink since he barely had enough to pay for the groceries he had to buy later, and she convinced him that the flavor of mint chocolate wasn't so bad. It was mostly because the taste lingered in her mouth after she finished the drink.

Mercedes snapped out of it when he realized that Sam was holding out her cup of coffee. She took it and mumbled a thanks. She wasn't sure if she should part ways with him, but it didn't seem like Sam was making a move to leave.

"You did amazing last week." Sam took a sip of his coffee and leaned on the counter.

"Thanks. It was really fun performing with those guys. I really love the Goldtones." She looked down at her cup.

Sam nodded. "And your solo... it blew me away just like it did years ago." He gave her a warm smile.

Mercedes suddenly felt the familiarity of his compliment. _"You blew me away with your singing just now and I know for a fact that I'm not the only one who thinks that when they hear you" _She took a breath as the memory hit her all of sudden. She hadn't thought about these memories in years, but all of a sudden it was just so vivid. She tucked a stray hair away from her face, blinking as she vaguely remembered the touch of his fingertips against her cheek.

Snap out of it, Mercedes... Past is past.

Mercedes shook her head. "It was nothing. Just trying to do Otis some justice." She laughed softly, trying to anchor herself back into the conversation.

Sam chuckled. "Of course... How is everyone back in Ohio? Well, if they're still in Ohio that is." Without much thought, they both walked to the sitting area and sat down at one of the open tables. Mercedes could sense that they were going to play catch-up.

She put her bag down and started turning her coffee cup in her hands. "Well... Kurt, Blaine and Rachel went off to New York, no surprise there. A few of them stayed in-state, like Finn went to Ohio State, Puck is in some community college, Artie is in Camden, Brittany and Santana are in Kissinger. Tina and Mike went to California, but Tina is in UCLA and Mike went to Berkeley. I'm not really sure what they're up to. Quinn didn't go to college. She just started her own vintage dress shop in Columbus."

Sam nodded slowly. "That's great... I really miss them all." The tone of his voice showed his sincerity. Guilt suddenly washed over Mercedes. Once he moved back to Tennessee, none of them really kept in touch with him. She especially didn't make an effort to form a long distance friendship but, of course, that had it's own complications. Moreover, maintaining a friendship was a two-way street. He never bothered contacting any of them. She still couldn't help but feel bad about it.

"Maybe we'll have a reunion some day." Mercedes spoke reassuringly. She wanted to stray farther from that slightly uncomfortable topic so she decided to change it. "So... how's your family?"

Sam opened and closed the lid of his cup absentmindedly. "Well, we're doing much better. That's how I could afford to pay for your coffee." They both laughed. "Mom and Dad both have had steady jobs for a few years now. Stevie is 12 and Stacey is 10."

Mercedes hands flew to her mouth. "Oh my god, Stevie and Stacey!" She suddenly remembered her fondness over those two kids. "It's been so long! I bet they are so grown up now!"

Sam threw his head back as he laughed. "I guess so. Stevie is almost thirteen and going through that phase where he wants us to call him Steven because 'I'm not a kid anymore!'" Mercedes laughed at Sam's whiny impression of his little brother. "Well, I'm not listening to him! He'll always be a little brat to me. And as for Stacey." He shook his head as he reached into his backpack. "I don't think she's changed much since the last time you saw her. I mean, she's gotten a little taller but" He opened one of his notebooks. "she still doodles on my stuff."

Sure enough, the inside of the front cover of his notebook was filled with little drawings in purple and pink pen. There were rainbows, princesses figures, flowers, and an attempt at drawing Sam with a football helmet.

Mercedes laughed as she rested her head in her hand and looked down at Stacey's creation. "I must say, she improved though. They aren't stick figures any more."

"She had a great teacher." Sam smirked at her as he leaned forward.

He was right. Mercedes remembered those nights when he was away at work and Mercedes thought it would be a fun idea for Stacey to practice her drawing skills in Sam's notebooks. Mercedes would also add in her own little doodles that were their own little inside jokes. At the time, they weren't dating so it was like her subtle way of flirting.

One night Mercedes was helping him with his English homework. When she looked in his notebook, she noticed a heart with "Sam + Mercedes" scrawled in it. She looked up at Sam with a smug look on his face.

"I didn-" Mercedes began.

"I know you didn't. That's not your handwriting at all." Sam laughed. "Seems like Stacey likes playing matchmaker." He bit his lip to try to hold back a laugh as Mercedes tried to scold Stacey about it. He knew she was blushing madly.

Mercedes was actually trying to fight a blush now. She knew that Sam would be able to see it regardless of her dark complexion. She tried to hide her face as she took a sip of her coffee. From the smile on Sam's face it looked like that might have failed. It was time for a topic change. "So, I hear you're a killer QB. Not fighting anyone for that position any more, are you?"

Sam shrugged. "That's right, no Finns threatening my spot- Shit." He suddenly flinched and checked his watch. "Speaking of, I'm late for practice." He took a big gulp of his coffee and stood up. "It was great catching up with you. I'll see you around?"

Mercedes smiled, she was a lot more relaxed around him after their conversation. She was relieved that they were definitely on good terms, over the pain of that sudden separation years ago. "Yeah, I will! Be careful out there." She was suddenly caught off guard when he walked to her side, bent down, and gave her a short but tight hug.

His scent was exactly the same... she remembered those warm nights by her car in the motel parking lot when she would hug him goodnight.

Sam pulled away. "Bye, Cedes." Their faces close enough for her to be frozen once again by those green eyes.

"Bye, Sammy..." Her old nickname for him fell naturally out of her mouth. She could see him smile a little brighter before he turned around and walked away.

Once Sam was out the door, Mercedes finally felt like she could breathe again. She let out a sigh, dropped her elbows on the table, and rubbed her temples. This was all too much. As much as she would like to say seeing Sam again was good, his sudden return into her life was bringing so many memories back from the past. While none of them were bad memories, it was so overwhelming.

Later that evening, Mercedes was having her weekly video chats with Kurt. She sat on her bed with her laptop propped on her pillow. All of her nail supplies were scattered all around her as she painted her toenails. On the screen, she could see Kurt in his silk pajamas starting his nightly moisturizing routine.

Kurt slammed his lotion jar on his vanity. "And so I said 'Do not mess with me or you will be kicked out of this production faster than a Nancy Grace nose flare.'"

Mercedes chuckled, "Boy, you tell 'em."

"Well, enough about my problems," Kurt started rubbing lotion over his nose. "How is my Mercy doing?"

"Nothing much here. Busy as usual with classes, working the Goldtones' fall concert, I'm procrastinating big time on a paper, I caught up with Sam over coffee, I might have a performance at that jazz club I told you about, I-"

Kurt leaned back in his chair. "Waaaaaait, back it up. Sam?"

"Sam Evans." Mercedes said quietly.

"Yeah, the same Sam Evans that you dated but kept it a secret from me and I didn't find out until Blaine pointed it out to me, THAT Sam Evans?" Kurt gave her a dark stare.

Mercedes cringed a little and pouted, "I'm sorry... for the record you would have been the first to know."

"Okay, whatever. Start from the beginning. Tell me about this little reunion." Kurt leaned closer to the camera.

"Well, I saw him the first day I got here..." Mercedes started.

"Wait. Hold it right there." Kurt put his forehead down his desk for moment before whipping it back up again. "You did it again." He said exasperatedly.

Mercedes raised an eyebrow, "Did what again?"

Kurt sighed, "What is with Sam and you not telling me about him weeks later?"

"I didn't think it was a big deal." She nervously picked at her nails.

Kurt rolled his eyes. "Sure. Meeting an ex-boyfriend for the first time in three years isn't a big deal."

Mercedes bit her lip. He had a point. He always had a point.

"Is he still hot?"

"What kind of question is that and why does it matter to you?" Mercedes nearly raised her voice. It was probably because she was so close to giving him an enthusiastic 'Um, YEAH, he is!'

"It's a good question and it matters to you." Kurt tilted his head.

Mercedes sighed, "Kurt, stuff like that shouldn't matter to me now... That was all in the past."

"Yeah, that was all in the past but who says the past can't have something to do with the present? You two never actually had closure. It ended because he moved away, not because you guys wanted it to end." Kurt flicked a hair away from his face.

"We drifted apart... literally. And feelings change." Mercedes said softly.

"Did they change or were they just put away from the time being? You could very well find it again."

Mercedes wanted to tell him firmly that her feelings for him changed but she stopped. Did they change? She may not be feeling like that lovestruck teenager years ago but what if those feelings did come back?

That honestly scared her.

"Kurt, I think it's getting late. I need to finish up some of my homework." She started picking up all of the nail polish and nail files on her bed.

One of Kurt's eyebrows quirked up. "Okay... you're right. I need to get to bed now. Bossing around freshmen is tough work."

Mercedes laughed, "Don't kill any of them."

"You're right, they're still useful. Night, Mercy. Love you!" Kurt blew a kiss.

Mercedes returned the kiss. "Love you too! Night!"

She closed the window but before she started to shut down her laptop, she noticed that another chat box appeared.

"Hey. Wat up grl?"

She saw the name at the top and she suddenly felt a chill. She thought she deleted this from her chat contacts... she thought she deleted it from every piece of technology she had. She quickly deleted the name, turned the laptop off, and nearly slammed it shut.

_That _was why she wasn't bothering with the past...

A/N: Reviews keep me going! Please take the time to tell me what you think! They are seriously appreciated!


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Sorry for the slight delay. A lot of factors in that. One being I was busy with work this week. Another being the JOYOUS news that Chord might be back on Glee! I was thinking that if he returned that this basically screws up my story a little. I'm obviously taking into account that Sam left and never came back. And I'm not much for AU, I love being as close to canon as possible (even though this is a "future fic" in a way) so this throws me off a bit... but I'll continue like this. I can't really do much about it. Oh and I also noticed a lot of Tumblr future RPs that have Samcedes (power to you guys! I love sneaking in on your Samcedes convos) also have this kind of "format." I really shouldn't be surprised because when a pairing doesn't work out or happen in Glee and you don't want to make it AU... you bring 'em together in college! Kind of generic, I know, but hopefully all the content in this story isn't too generic... Thank you everyone that has read this and will continue to read it! You're awesome!

This one is a lot longer than my usual chapters, hope you enjoy!

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><p>As her iPod played one of her favorite songs, Mercedes smiled to herself. It was the weekend, the already gorgeous campus was made more inviting by the relaxed atmosphere. No one was in a rush to go anywhere, students were probably either out for a jog, hanging out at the cafe, studying on the lawn, or in their rooms sleeping in. Just as she predicted, Mercedes' favorite pastime was relaxing on one of the benches reading a novel. Whether it was for class or for fun, sitting by the trees just made it more enjoyable. It just relieved her stress and, boy, did she need it.<p>

She struggled to keep up with all of the papers that she had to write for her midterms. She also hated having a math class. Seriously, why did she need it? College requirements be damned. Even her favorite class, music theory, wasn't letting up on her. Yeah, she was working hard and doing well so far but she just needed a moment to breathe.

… and this other problem wasn't helping at all.

Ever since that message that she ignored after her chat with Kurt that one night, she kept getting similar messages. She also was receiving messages on her phone from an unknown number, but judging from the number she could give a really good guess as to who it was. It was getting to the point that she was getting multiple messages a day. Without fail, she ignored every single one of them not even bothering to look at what it said. She was considering getting a new phone number and changing her chat account.

_Dammit, just leave me alone..._

Fortunately, she was strong enough not to let it get to her and dampen her spirits. She told herself to take it with the tiniest grain of salt. It was all in the past. The only thing that she took from it was the lessons she learned, the rest was tossed to the wayside.

As she sat down and propped her feet on her favorite bench by the east campus fountain, Mercedes pushed all of her worries aside. At this very moment, she didn't think about her papers, her tests, her homework, and those messages. She was in 19th century England with Elinor and Marianne of "Sense and Sensibility." Quinn used to rave about Jane Austen novels all the time during their weekly chats so she eventually started reading and surprisingly she was hooked. She plowed through "Pride & Prejudice," "Mansfield Park," "Persuasion," and "Emma" so now it was time for a new one.

She took off her ear buds and just let the sounds the rustling wind, the birds, and incoherent chatter of people accompany her as she read. She would hum to herself and mindlessly flick the corners of the pages as she read. She chuckled to herself at the witty humor. Once the plot was starting to really pick up, she brought the book closer to her face, nearly burying herself in it, both figuratively and literally. She was so absorbed in the book that she was barely aware of anything around her... almost.

"I never took you for a British literature kind of girl."

Mercedes nearly jumped. She dropped her book to see Sam sitting on the other end of the bench by her feet. He was wearing his football jersey with jeans. If it was possible for there to be some high fashion sports magazine, he looked like he stepped out of one.

But Mercedes didn't dwell on that as she put down her book and crossed her arms. "And I didn't originally take you for comic book kind of boy and where did that assumption take me?" She smirked.

Sam threw his head back as he laughed. "Hopefully that's the only game I lose today..." He clicked his tongue.

After their first real conversation at Richter, they were once again comfortable enough with each other that they could strike up a conversation if they ever encountered each other. Usually it was at the cafe, but sometimes they did talk if Mercedes was reading outside or if they were walking in the same direction. But all conversation was pretty casual. The "how was your day," "I hate writing papers," "I talked to Stacey and Stevie" kind of conversations. While they didn't mean much, Mercedes couldn't help be a little happy that Sam bothered to stop to talk to her. She supposed it was because when he talked, he gave her his undivided attention. He did it when they were dating, he was the same now.

But she didn't take it too seriously. It seemed like everyone wanted to talk to him. There were many instances when she would see him talking to girls. They would usually giggle their heads off at something he said or flip their hair in a 'sexy' kind of way. Mercedes couldn't help but internally roll her eyes. Well, Sam was Sam. No matter how well she used to know him, the boy was still a really good looking popular jock. He could have slipped back into those old habits of dating cheerleaders and the like. She never pushed the issue with him. What he did was no longer her business.

Still, that thought seemed to trigger her curiosity a little."Well, are you still a boy of the comic book reading kind?" She tilted her head.

Sam grinned to himself as he looked down at his outstretched legs. "Yeah... I am. Lately I've been so busy with football and school I don't get that much time to read but once in a while I'll open up a new copy that my dad sent me." He sighed. "Not that many people know about it. I think my football buddies would be on my case if they knew about my inner geek."

Mercedes smiled and chuckled a little, "It's nothing to be ashamed about, Sammy..."

Sam half shrugged. "It's not that I really care anymore. I guess I just never bring it up. Other than keeping out of trouble in front of football media, I don't really care all that much about my reputation."

Mercedes couldn't help but smile. That was the Sammy that Mercedes grew to admire years ago. When she first met him, she could see that he was some new pretty boy that was fighting his way to popularity. She only saw that side of him until that fateful day when the glee club put him under fire over a stupid rumor. Popularity and girl troubles were no longer his concern. His family was first, and while protecting his family's dignity, he sacrificed his own.

Mercedes felt horrible about it. She had no justification for criticizing him like he did. Honestly, it was out of her own jealousy. She thought that yet another person was taking her best friend away from her. She was selfish and judgmental, things that she told herself that she wouldn't be. She couldn't live with her guilt...

So she went to apologize to him personally. She got his address from Kurt and drove herself to his motel the following afternoon. She apologized wholeheartedly and Sam readily accepted her apology. After that exchange she met Stacey and Stevie and immediately fell in love with them. To make further amends, she took the three of them to the park. Although she never really talked to Sam before, it was amazing how easily they fell into conversation. It was just natural.

"No way! As much as I love comics in general, Marvel rules them all! There is no contest!" Sam ran a hand through his longish blonde hair. He and Mercedes were walking along the sidewalk circling the playground that Stacey and Stevie were running around.

Mercedes rolled her eyes. "Really, Sam? Come on! DC Comics all the way! Superman? Wonder Woman? Captain America? BATMAN? They are superhero legends!" She was talking with her hands, she was so riled up at this point.

"Yeah, but the X-men? The Avengers? Spiderman? Fantastic Four? They are nothing to shake a stick at." Sam said a matter-of-factly.

Mercedes pursed her lips in typical diva-fashion. "Yeah, but Superman can smash a stick over Hulk's head."

Sam stopped and threw her with a dark glare. "Seriously? You're gonna start talking like that now?"

After a long pause and an intense staring contest, a lopsided grin grew on his face. Mercedes couldn't help but break out into a smile too. All of a sudden they started laughing.

Sam waved his arms in surrender. "Forget it. We'll get nowhere with this. I'll just talk about the fact that you actually know a thing or two about comics. Miss Mercedes Jones, I am shocked."

With a flip of her hair, Mercedes started walking again. "Yeah, well, just because I have a diva-tude doesn't mean that I can't like geeky stuff. Just like you, Mr. Popular Jock..."

Sam smiled and shook his head. "Yeah, if I learned anything from my shitty fall downhill is that popularity isn't everything. What did it get me? I looked cool? A lot of people knew my name? None of that helped me when my family lost our house. It didn't give me a girl that really cared about me. It's useless. I shouldn't care what other people think... I should just be myself." His voice got quieter, and he shoved his hands in his pockets.

Mercedes reached out to pat his bicep. "Exactly. You're Sam Evans. The loser Marvel Boy."

Sam smirked "You're not getting away with that epic fail DC girl..." Once Mercedes got a head start, he began his chase. And that day, a new friendship was formed... a friendship that would lead to something more.

The now matured young man leaned back and threw an arm over the back of bench. Sam took a deep breath. "I understand why you like reading out here. It's really relaxing..."

Mercedes nodded as they sat there in comfortable silence. Ever since they began their friendship, it was like this. Everything they did together, it was just natural. Nothing forced, nothing awkward. Their transition from acquaintances to friends flowed in effortless progression... their transition from friends to more than that was the same.

She let out small sigh and just took the moment for what it was... just two friends enjoying the fall wind.

Until it was interrupted by a screech.

"SAMMY!"

Sam flinched and sat up with a really irritated look on his face. They turned to see some of his football friends and a brunette in a cheerleading outfit. She often saw her walking around with Sam... his girlfriend perhaps? He never mentioned it but he never denied the existence of one.

"SAMMY! LET'S GO! IT'S GAME TIME!" She bounced.

"Go ahead, I'll be right there!" Sam yelled back. The group made their way to the stadium locker rooms. He leaned back again for a moment. "I kind of don't want to leave..." He mumbled almost to himself.

Mercedes smiled. "Come on. Go and win it. For all of us."

Sam stood up, walked to her end of the bench, and crouched down, his eyes level with hers. He was so close that it seemed like his body protected her from the fall wind chill. She could feel his warmth emanating from him. "So... you gonna come cheer me on?" He asked in a low voice.

Mercedes lifted a corner of her lips. "I don't know... I'm not much of a rah-rah school spirit kind of girl..."

"Oh come on, Cedes! For me?" Sam lowered his head, looked up at her with his bright green eyes, and pouted.

Oh no. It's over. Sam knew he won. There were so many things that Sam managed to convince Mercedes to do with that signature look. That boy was smart. "Fine, fine... I'll be there."

Sam broke into a big smile. The chest clenching happened again. "Great! I'll be looking out for you!"

"In that big stadium?"

"Yeah, no way I could miss you." Sam laughed.

Mercedes lifted an eyebrow. "Should I be taking this as an insult or..." She tilted her head.

He shook his head. "Far from it." He leaned in for a short hug. "I'll see you there."

The smell of him almost distracted her from responding. "Okay, Sammy, good luck." He smiled warmly before standing up and walking in the same direction as his teammates.

Far from it, huh?

Before Mercedes could wonder more about it, she realized another person plopped down on the bench where Sam once sat. Noelle.

"So...I've been doing some thinking." Noelle started as she fluffed her hippie style skirt.

Mercedes snorted and lifted her book back up to her face. "Amazing."

Noelle leaned over to snatch the book away. "No, you're listening to me, okay?"

"Okay, shoot, 'Elle."

She pushed her glasses up her nose. "So... I noticed you and the quarterback seem to talk to each other a lot."

"So?" Mercedes leaned back more against the arm rest. "We're friends."

"Uh huh. Right, you told me that you two were in Glee together in high school."

"Yup."

"I also remember that you told me a while ago that you have a thing for dating football players." Noelle twirled a piece of her short hair with her finger.

Mercedes scoffed. "I did not say I had a thing for football players!"

"Well, not exactly but you told me your three high school boyfriends were all football players."

Wow, three boyfriends. She didn't think of it that way. She always remembered always being the single girl in Glee. "Yeah..."

"You told me about these three boys." Noelle held her index finger out. "The first one wasn't really a boyfriend. More like an asshole who just wanted you for your popularity because you were a cheerleader at the time." She held out two fingers. "The second was actually a boyfriend. You had a short little relationship until he moved away." She added a third finger. "Then there was the boy who made some pretty big plans with you but it scared you away among other things."

Mercedes silently nodded along. Her friend was definitely a listener and had a hell of a memory. Although she seemed like an airhead at times, she had a really good head on her shoulders. "And your point is..."

Noelle smirked. "Which one is he?" She nodded her head towards the stadium.

Oh yeah, she was a smart one. Mercedes just stared at her for a moment thinking about what she should say to her. Judging from the intent look in her eyes, she made her decision.

Mercedes lowered her head and mumbled. "He was the second one."

"I knew it!" Noelle broke out into a huge grin. "So, he was like the best one out of the bunch."

Mercedes was about to adamantly object but then she realized... she was right. Puck didn't even really count. Shane was too controlling. And... forget that. The point was, Sam really was the best of them. He treated her so well. He was a best friend as well as a boyfriend. In their short relationship, she didn't find a flaw.

But they probably broke up before she could find a flaw in it.

"So you caught me. He's an ex. Good job, Sherlock." Mercedes spoke offhandedly.

"Yeah, an ex that doesn't seem like he will be an ex soon enough." Noelle smirked.

Mercedes shook her head vigorously. "Where did you get that from?"

"Before I got here, I could see two people on his bench talking. I could see him. He didn't look like he was just there to talk to a friend."

"Um, he _was _just talking to a friend. That's it." Mercedes snapped her book closed.

"A guy doesn't squat in front of her, leaning in, with that look on his face just talking to any random girl." Noelle crossed her arms.

She recalled the moment that passed not too long ago. It did seem a little more intimate than any normal conversation between friends. But that just might be how Sam is. He is a nice, warm, welcoming type of guy. It didn't necessarily mean anything more. Thinking about this was getting a little too uncomfortable for Mercedes.

She stood up and stuffed her book into her satchel and started walking to her dorm. Noelle raced after her. "Hey, where are you going?"

"Back to our room. I need to change, I'm going to the game."

Noelle chuckled. "I thought you weren't much of a sports fan."

"I'm not. I promised... I promised Sam I'd go."

"Aaah! Got it. Okay, we'll go! Rashad said he was getting some good seats up front anyway." She started pulling Mercedes. "Come on! Let's get prettified!"

"Prettified?" Mercedes repeated incredulously.

"Yeah, gotta look good for your quarterback. He'll be looking for you in the crowd!" Noelle nearly bounced as she walked.

"'Elle! It's a football game! I'm not dressing up for it and he WILL NOT be looking for me!"

Well, that was a bold faced lie but she didn't want to admit it.

* * *

><p>Mercedes closed her eyes as she muttered to herself. For a second she would stop, groan in frustration, and open an eye to peek at her notes, then close it again to continue her little chant. Memorization. Her next Anthro exam was all just memorization. When it came to this kind of test, this was exactly how you would find her studying. She didn't care if she was in the middle of the cafe looking all sorts of crazy. This was how she was going to ace the exam.<p>

But her chants were interrupted when she heard the loud squeak of a chair scraping the floor. She opened her eyes at the sound. Sam had fallen into the chair across from her, his face was already buried in his arms on the table. He made no move to get up. Mercedes put down her notes and leaned forward.

"Sammy... you okay?"

Sam sat there motionless for a moment before replying. "Yeah, but not really." A muffled voice came out of his arms.

"What do you mean?" Mercedes tilted her head.

Sam finally sat up, his hair slightly mussed up, his face clearly exasperated. "I talked to my adviser."

Mercedes immediately thought of the implications. Usually you met your adviser to discuss what classes you were going to take the next semester or discuss your future plans. What usually causes people stress during these meetings would be them calling you to discuss a class that you failed. "Did you fail a class?" She asked cautiously.

Sam ran a hand through his hair. "No, I'm doing fine."

"Then... what's going on?"

He looked around the cafe then started scooting his chair closer to Mercedes' side. He began in a low voice. "I went over there to talk about my career plans. He jumped to the automatic conclusion that everyone gets..." Sam's eye twitches. "NFL. No brainer, right? Well, did I tell him that? No."

Mercedes nodded as she listened. She had a feeling she knew where this was going.

Sam looked around again leaned in closer to her, their elbows resting on the table nearly touching. "Yeah, I like football. Sure, I'm not bad at it but does that mean I want to make a career out of it?... not really." He let out a sigh and he ran hand over his face. "At first when I came to Richter, I was pretty sure that's what I was going to do. But then I started taking classes. I really like my creative writing class, my professor says I'm awesome at it. Over the summer I wrote a couple drafts of some sci-fi story that I came up with. My professor wants me to take it to a publisher. And I'm really excited about it, like REALLY excited. But then I talked to my adviser about it a bit and he laughed at me! Like I would pass up earning millions of dollars and write novels that probably won't get anywhere past a grocery store book section. I'll be honest that scares the hell out of me, I do want to make a living... but at the same time, I think about publishing a book... and it's exciting. I never thought I could learn how to write my high school book report much less a novel. I can't see how going around to cities throwing a football around until I'm 30-something then retiring is fulfilling. But that's what everyone expects me to do. Everyone here is so proud of me and is pushing me in that direction. I know I shouldn't let them get to me... but I just... but right now I can't decide. The future scares me."

Mercedes patiently listened to his rambling, and nodded. After a moment of Sam collecting himself, she softly spoke up. "Yeah, I understand, the future is scary... but it's also really promising. You have so much potential that you can work with. If writing is what you want to do, then go for it, ignore what anyone thinks because you can't go living your life regretting that you didn't pursue your dreams. The only thing that is holding you back is yourself. Go for it."

As they sat there talking, she could immediately sense the shift in the dynamic between them. They reestablished that connection that they once had, not in a romantic way, but they were each others' support. That one semester in high school, they were able to help each other through their emotional hardships. Sam was asking for her help again, and she obliged because she knew that he would do the same. He was someone that she could be completely honest with, who wouldn't judge her and would help her if she needed it. No strings attached, they put their trust in each other.

Sam rubbed his temples. "I know... I just... it's all confusing. After every win, I'm pulled in this whirlwind of football media talking about my 'potential,' what to expect when I go to the NFL... they've all already started to place bets on my future. I know I shouldn't listen but it's like a constant buzzing in my ear, sometimes it's just really loud and I can't shake it! I can't-"

"SAMMY!" A familiar screech called out. That brunette walked up to their table.

Sam groaned and snapped in her direction. "Don't call me Sammy!" He nearly yelled. A few people looked in their direction. Mercedes nearly flinched back. The girl looking absolutely horrified. "I'm sick of you calling me that, Megan! You're not allowed to call me Sammy!" His stress was clearly getting to him. Sam was usually such an easy going guy. The only time Mercedes saw him rage this badly was when most of the Glee club started criticizing him over that one rumor.

This Megan girl shrank back, "I was just going to ask to if you wanted to go out with us tonight."

Sam shook his head, a trace of a snarl in his face. "No. No to tonight, no to Cancun. Just NO. I'll be honest here. I apologize in advance, I have a killer headache and problems that I don't want to deal with. I suggest you just go away."

Mercedes watched the girl basically run out of that cafe, it took a little bit of restraint not to laugh because the guy next to her clearly wasn't having it. "Wow... where did that come from?" She tried to lighten the mood.

Sam half shrugged and a hint of a smile graced his face. "I don't know... might have come from the girl next to me."

Mercedes chuckled. "That did sound like some diva-tude, huh?"

"I've always wanted her off my case. She's been on it ever since Chad set me up on a date with her." He put a hand over his eyes.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Sammy... Oh wait, you don't like that name. Why didn't you tell me that before? I've been calling you that for the longest time." In her shock over his explosion, she didn't realize that mistake.

Sam dropped his hand revealing two wide eyes. "Oh." He didn't seem to realize it himself. "No, you can still call me Sammy."

Her eyebrows creased together. "But you just said..."

He nodded in the direction of Megan's exit, "She can't call me that. No one else can. There are only a handful of people who call me Sammy that I can tolerate. First is my family... next is you."

Mercedes suddenly felt her heart quicken. "Why?"

Sam looked straight at her, honesty once again shining in his eyes. "It just sounds right..."

* * *

><p>AN1: There were so many typos in that last scene, I was so tired when I wrote that! I just wanted to get this chapter to you so I didn't even bother really looking at it! But it's fixed! I'm typo Queen so there are probably more. Hopefully that didn't bother you guys too much.

A/N2: _PLEASE REVIEW! You don't need to write much. Just let me know how it is! I write more when I see new reviews! No lie! Thanks again!_


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Okay! I'm back! So WHO is partying over the fact the Sam/Chord is officially back and we hopefully get our beloved pairing soon? I was flailing (literally rolling on my bed) over this all day. I suppose in celebration, I give you a new chapter of this story! Actually the timing is because that although I had this whole thing mapped out, it was really difficult writing this chapter... you'll probably see what I mean soon.

Oh, and another note. _THANK YOU SO MUCH_ to those people who recommended my story on tumblr (my blog: Carosangtae). I got a lot more reviews and subscribers than I anticipated. And thank you so much to all of my readers and reviewers! This means a lot to me and it makes the experience of writing so enjoyable. Thank you again and enjoy!

* * *

><p>Mercedes' eyes ran across the words. Flying through the paragraphs. Flip page. Her eyes flew open. She gasped. She raised an eyebrow. Her eyes widened again. Her mouth was slowly gaping open. She continued to fly through the words until she found the final period of the page. She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. She finally raised her eyes to meet a pair of green eyes looking expectantly back at her.<p>

"So..." Sam began as he spun a pen in his fingers. "What do you think?" He was sitting across from her in the campus cafe. The hood of his red Richter sweater was pulled over his head, a tuft of blonde hair peeking out. He had a notebook open in front of him on the table but he was too focused on Mercedes' reaction to think about studying.

Mercedes put down the manuscript, an inch thick spiral bound stack of paper. "Wow. Just. Wow. That was... amazing. And that was just the second chapter!" She flicked her thumb through the remaining pages that was left unread.

Sam broke out into a grin. "Really? You think so? I wasn't sure about the beginning. For my first draft I thought it was a little shaky and confusing but I changed it around... changed the pace, added more detail. I dunno, you didn't think I was going too fast in the first chapter, was I?" He used his pen to scratch his head underneath his hood as he rambled. "I think I might have been a little too anxious with-"

"Sammy." Mercedes hit his forearm with his own manuscript. "Quit it. This is amazing. I'm not just trying to be nice. Seriously, this is some first class stuff. By the first paragraph, I was hooked. Action right from the beginning. I definitely want to read more. I'm stealing this thing away from you." She joked, pretending to put it in her bag.

Sam laughed. "Go ahead. Take it. I want you to read more of it and let me know how it is. I need another opinion other than Dr. Goldey." He twirled the pen intricately between his fingers.

Mercedes' eyes skimmed over the next chapter. "This is amazing, Sam. Like... it's something out of a published novel. I could totally see something like this on the New York Times Bestsellers list."

Sam scratched his nose, trying to hide a faint blush. "You really think that someone still in college could pull that off?"

"Christopher Paolini was a teenager when he released one of the best fantasy novels out there." Mercedes offered with a smirk.

"Yeah but he was a genius who graduated high school at the age of 15... I'm a dyslexic jock." He lowered his head.

"You _were _dyslexic_. _But look at you now! Writing stuff like this!" She held up the manuscript. "It doesn't matter if you are a football player or not. You show your worth where it counts."

Sam let out a sigh. "Is it enough, though?"

Mercedes leaned back in her seat, "Well, you'll never know unless you put this out there." She put a finger down on the pages.

"Yeah..." Sam started absently rubbing his chin. "Dr. Goldey was talking about a few publishers that would consider taking a sci-fi novel."

Mercedes gave him a sharp nod. "There you go. You're on your way."

"I... I don't know. Just because I get this thing to a publisher doesn't mean it'll work. I'm still not sure if I'm cut out for this." Sam rubbed the back of his neck.

"Nothing is set in stone. You have time to figure this out. Now you know you have options, not just one that everyone is forcing to you choose. And that's the first step. Know your potential." Mercedes nodded.

Sam stared straight into Mercedes' eyes in silence. Mercedes wasn't sure what he was thinking at the moment. It was almost as if those green eyes leered right into her. She was almost getting a little uncomfortable under his gaze before she saw a grin spread across his face. "Thank you, Cedes... really. Thanks a lot."

Mercedes smiled back. "It's nothing. I'm just helping out a good... friend."

Friend. There was something about that word that just sounded weird. But it shouldn't have. They were friends. Nothing more. Yeah, they were in a relationship in the past, but that didn't mean that it had to be strange between them. And it wasn't strange. They weren't awkward around each other. It was a comfort to have a good guy friend that you could be completely honest with. Someone you could trust without all of the strings attached. But if she could admit it to herself, there may have been some residual feelings there. Mercedes couldn't help but think that something cracked open that one day he told her that his nickname was reserved for her.

"_It just sounds right..."_

There was something about it just got to her. She would be lying to herself if she said she wasn't attracted to him sometimes. He had the looks and a great personality. Everything that she loved about him didn't change over the years. Kurt did say something about finding feelings that were once put aside... But there was a part of herself that told her not to find it again. It felt like a distraction, a weakness, a part of her past that she didn't want to revisit at the moment. She was determined to become a strong independent woman and involving herself in a relationship meant that she was straying away from that path.

She felt like she was constantly in a tug-of-war with herself. When he looked straight into her eyes, when he hugged her, when he smiled at her...there was a strong pull towards Sam. But then she would remember the almost literal pain of heartache, the tears, and the vulnerability. Then there was strong tug in the other direction. She continued the struggle, but she wasn't sure what side she was on. All she could do was try to put it all away in the back of her mind.

Mercedes nearly jumped when she heard her phone beep. She looked at the phone on the table and saw the words "restricted number". She let out a sigh. There was the tug in the other direction. She quickly deleted the text message. She looked up to see that Sam's eyes curiously followed her hands. He quickly looked away.

"So..." Sam tried to break the momentary silence. "What are your plans for the weekend?"

Was he trying to ask her out? No, can't be. "I'm not really sure. I think my friends are planning on going out since we finally don't have major tests next week. How about you?" She wasn't sure if she was implying anything to him. That could have been interpreted either way. She was mentally kicking herself for over thinking it.

Sam shrugged. "I don't really have plans. Coach is finally letting up on our schedule since we won the Simpson game. Usually us football players are pretty boring people. We go to bed early on a Friday night." He chuckled to himself. Sounded like he was just making conversation.

"Yeah, you guys have a pretty crazy schedule. With all of your classes, I seriously don't know how you do it." Mercedes was honestly amazed by his abilities. Even in high school he always seemed to be juggling a bunch of things at once. He had to work, go to school, do his homework, go to football practice, take care his siblings, and he managed have a social life with Mercedes as his girlfriend. Even with many of those things off the list, he still was a busy guy. It was a wonder how he didn't explode from the stress.

"I don't know either. Every semester I'm surprised I ever make it out alive..." He checked his watch. "Time for practice, hopefully this won't be too long." He stood up and started packing his things.

"I say it every time and I say it now. Be safe. I really don't want you to bust your head open!" Mercedes smiled.

"Alright, alright. I won't. No sacks today." Sam laughed. "Have a great weekend, Cedes..." He bent over to give her a hug.

Sam never failed to do that before parting ways with her. She wasn't sure if she was receiving special treatment for that. He didn't hug any of his other friends. Well, they were guys. Now that she thought about it, she couldn't recall if Sam had any close girl friends here. Maybe if he did have any, he would do the same. There she was over thinking it again.

"You too, Sammy." Yeah...calling him by his nickname did sound right.

As Sam walked away, her phone beeped. Restricted number. There was the tug in the other direction again.

* * *

><p>Thirteen voices blended perfectly together. The sopranos and the altos closely followed one another. The baritones and tenors richly filled out the sound. The bass was the foundation. It was all seamless. The thirteen people behind those voices sat in a circle closely watching one another, making sure they were in unison. Their connection was very strong. Once they reached the final note, they cut off with the wave of a hand.<p>

Tiffany clapped her hands excitedly. "That was great guys! We're so ready for regionals!"

Caroline drew in a breath. "Man, it felt so good to sing like that!"

"Yeah, that was perfect!" Noelle hopped in her seat.

Joey ruffled his own hair. "Really? You sure? That was tough for me. A beatboxer singing tenor?"

"And another beatboxer singing alto?" Stephanie nervously pulled at her long blonde braid.

"It was a great plan. You guys sing so well! We really needed the extra voices for this song. You really filled in the places we needed." Rashad commented and several others nodded in agreement.

"Okay! So we're done, we're ready, _and _this hell week is over!" Valerie stood up quickly. "It's time to PARTY!" A few of them cheered with her.

"So what are we doing?" Andrew stood behind Nicky and rested his head on her shoulder.

Valerie half shrugged. "We can club hop downtown."

Noelle bit her lip before answering. "Hey, how about we just stay at one place? We have a pretty big group, it's so easy to split up when we all go club hopping."

"Yeah, we know how Elle can get lost." Rashad smirked.

"Shut up, Shad!" She whacked at the guy.

"Doesn't matter to me as long as I get my drink and dance on." Valerie smiled. "How about Club Red? I heard a bunch of people were heading over there tonight."

"Oh, the one with the stripper poles?" A goofy grin started to grow on Joey's face.

Tiffany laughed. "Oh, British boy is getting some ideas!"

"Maybe I do!" He waggled his eyebrows and gave Cliff a high-five.

Mercedes shared a look with Caroline and they both shook their heads at their group mates' banter. The Goldtones were a bunch of crazy kids. It seemed like the talk of tonight's plans was getting everyone energized. Mercedes couldn't help but be excited too. Since she got here, she did go out a few times. But after midterms, tons of assignments and tests, a night out was long overdue. It was time to trade the study night sweats for a cute party dress.

"Alright, girls, we're getting ready at my place!" Tiffany loudly announced. Heather and Madison were already bounding out of the room to go and get their stuff from their dorm room. Mercedes and Noelle also hurried out of the music building and went to their room to pick up their clothes, makeup, and hair supplies. Then they made the trek to the west campus where most of the senior apartments were located.

By the time they arrived at Tiffany and Valerie's apartment, most of the girls were already there getting dressed. Eventually all of them were crowding the mirrors in the bathrooms and bedrooms.

After her hair and makeup, Mercedes slipped on her dress, a black off-the-shoulder lace dress that was fitted to compliment her curves. After a lot of tugging and twirling in front of the mirror, she was ready to come out of the bathroom to show it off.

Noelle was the first to see. "Oh my god," She gasped. "Drop dead gorgeous!" She ran over to her to give her a crushing hug.

Tiffany gave their newest member a once over, "Heads will be turnin' tonight! Courtesy of Miss Jones!" The other girls smiled in agreement.

After a close call with a curling iron, a lipstick stain dilemma, some music from Valerie's stereo, a lot of dancing in the living room, and a little pre-game drinking, they were ready to go. They took three taxis to the club where there were meeting the guys.

As a large pack of good looking girls, it didn't take long for them to get in the club. Once Mercedes crossed the threshold of Club Red, the mood of the night completely changed. Her ears were immediately bombarded by the constant beat of the bass that felt like it was humming her chest. The whole place was much darker than the lighted streets outside, but it was lit by a shroud of red and some random spotlights beaming down throughout the club.

It wasn't long before the girls found the Goldtones guys who sat at a booth in the corner. Once they were all settled and chatting away, Valerie screamed out above the music. "IT'S TIME FOR SHOTS!"

Mercedes wasn't sure how Valerie and the other guys managed it but the shots kept coming. Lemon drops, B-151s, jolly ranchers, tequila, jagerbombs. She wasn't a huge drinker and she wasn't planning on getting completely wasted that night, but she definitely threw back more than any lightweight. Once she definitely started to feel it, she turned down more shots and resorted to drinking a midori sour, her favorite cocktail. It was definitely a drink that kept her hyped.

Stephanie gasped. "Oh god, guys. STOP." She wildly threw her arms out. "That's my song!"

Tiffany pointed to the front of the club. "Goldtones! Report your asses to the dance floor!" Everyone hollered and filed out of the booth to the main dancing area.

The bass of the song was addictive. Seeing all of her close friends surrounding her made her so happy and the influence of alcohol made her just throw herself into the music. Most of the time, Mercedes was dancing up against Noelle, Valerie, or Tiffany. Other times the other girls or the guys stepped in to dance with her. Whenever she was in the club, she made it a point of sticking with her friends because the idea of getting advances from some random guy was not her idea of fun. She admitted it to herself, in a club full of drunk guys, her backside was kind of a magnet.

As an night wore on, her friends had come and gone. She even took a break herself, but soon, after some water and another shot, they were back on the dance floor. They all ended up dancing in a circle. One of them would jump in the middle for a drunken dance solo as the others hollered for them. In all of the chaos, Mercedes almost didn't realize that there was a tap on her shoulder. She turned around and the first thing she saw a big smile.

And that smile undoubtedly belonged to Sam Evans. It wasn't long before she was able to take him all in. He was wearing dark wash jeans with a fitted black collared shirt, sleeves rolled up to his elbows. His hair was tousled in a messy yet styled way.

HOLY. SHIT. He was hot.

Mercedes couldn't help but laugh loudly at her own surprise. The many drinks she had that night did not leave any kind of filter. "SAMMY!" She screamed and threw herself at him for a hug.

"Hey Cedes." Sam replied close to her ear so that she could hear him over the music.

"Boring football player decided to go out and have some fun, huh?" Mercedes called back in his ear.

Sam chuckled. "Right, well I can't let you have all the fun." It was in this proximity that she could smell the alcohol in his breath.

The atmosphere of this club didn't allow for a lot of conversation so she turned back to her friends and let Sam in the circle. Her friends yelled out their greetings. She also noticed the surprised looks on their faces and how their gaze darted from Sam to herself. Noelle was wearing an obnoxiously smug grin. Mercedes did her best to ignore it.

It wasn't long before Sam got himself comfortable with her friends. They soon pushed him into the circle so that he could show off his white boy moves. It was very reminiscent of his prom night moves which brought back so many good memories for Mercedes. That night during junior prom, they dancing like fools, not caring what anyone else thought. It was that night when both Sam and Mercedes could really be themselves.

"_Seriously? You're busting out the robot? You're amazing, Cedes!" Sam laughed harder than she had ever heard him laugh before._

That goofy, fun loving smile was plastered on Sam's face once again. In the middle of the dance floor, some of Sam's football friends showed up to show off their own moves. As the group of people got bigger, the formation began to break apart. Mercedes started dancing with Noelle again but soon she remembered that a certain blonde boy wasn't too far away. With a quick look over her shoulder she noticed that he was behind her. He was facing her but some girl tried to strike up a 'yell in each others ear' conversation with him.

Mercedes was jealous. There was no sober thought to stop her from feeling that way. At this moment, there were no feelings to hide. Maybe Noelle was right, maybe he was interested. Right now with him looking they way he did, she _was definitely _interested. There was only one way to know for sure about his opinion. Mercedes continued to dance but she subtlety started backing up closer to Sam. She was still a good foot away from him but she waved and moved her hips to the music.

Mercedes was going to make Sam come to her.

It wasn't long before she felt a warmth coming from behind her. With a toss of her hair behind her shoulder, Mercedes could see a glimpse of black cloth and a light skinned, well-toned arm. Sam was inches away from her now.

She no longer cared about how she didn't want to bother with the past. She was living in the present. And right now there she was with a boy that she cared so much for. They were close as friends, and she knew they were capable of being more than friends. And with the haze of alcohol, the heat of the club, and the moving force of the music... it all just made her attraction to this man that much stronger.

Mercedes no longer really felt in control of her actions anymore. It was as if there was a magnetic pull that drew her closer to him, that pushed her back flush against his chest. She felt her stomach flip as she felt him against her moving to the same beat. His chest, his crotch, his legs... there was no space between them now.

After the initial shock, she felt the need to explore this new level of closeness that they had entered. In high school when they were dating, they kissed, they made out, hands did roam somewhat, but they never went much farther. What was happening now was completely different. What they had done in the past was never this... sensual.

As Mercedes moved, she could feel Sam's obviously well-formed abs against her back. The feeling made her stomach flip. But what really made her heart start racing was when she noticed a pair of large hands placing themselves on her hips. At first they just rested softly against her but with the moves that she was making, those hands started to grip her more firmly. If it was possible, she was pulled even closer to his body. Every move he made, she could feel it.

The connection they felt before this night was amplified by this moment. Mercedes let a different side of her take over and hold on to this connection. Her inhibitions were absolutely gone. She couldn't help but think about his eyes, this smile, his warm embrace, and the scent of him that she could still smell under a hint of cologne.

As she got lost in the moment, Mercedes didn't realize that her own hand reached up above her shoulder and made contact with Sam's neck. Almost working on its own, her hand slid down his sweaty neck to his collarbone almost to the top of his bare chest under his shirt before falling down and resting on top of his hand. She could almost feel him shudder against her touch, his hands gripped her hips tighter. Mercedes smiled. He was completely effected by her.

But she soon felt a shift in dominance once she felt something along her neck. She turned slightly to see his blonde hair right over her shoulder. She tilted away as she felt his hot breath brush her neck and bare shoulder. They continued to move with the music as she felt the touch of his full lips make contact with the crook of her neck. A rush of electricity coursed straight down her body. She couldn't help but take in a gasp as those lips moved up her neck, behind her ear, then back down close to her collarbone. His hands started roaming up and down her sides. The feeling that was pulsing and crashing within her was intense.

It was way too intense. They were in the middle of this club with people surrounding them. And _this _was really happening.

Her initial instinct was to get out of there. For the both of them to get off this dance floor. This was not the right place. She immediately followed through. She grabbed the hand that was on her right hip and pulled him along with her. As she was moving for the hallway in the back of the club, she finally let herself look back at him. Sam looked back at her. The fierce gaze that he was giving took her breath away. Years ago she once saw a glimpse of it but this was different. His usually bright green eyes smouldered into a dark deep green.

Her heart was racing as she felt herself follow one instinct: She wanted Sam Evans. All of him.

Once they reached the end of the hallway in the back of the club, Mercedes turned to him and Sam did the rest. He pushed her against the the wall with his body and practically assaulted her neck. The sensations that we was getting from his lips, his teeth, and his tongue on her skin completely overwhelmed her. She gasped for air and here was nothing stopping her from releasing a moan which seemed to energize his efforts. Mercedes grasped at the back of his neck to stabilize herself and to keep him close.

All of sudden she felt something else... it wasn't from Sam. Her phone was vibrating in her skirt pocket. She knew who it was. Like a douse of cold water, it suddenly brought her back to her senses. She remembered the reason why she strayed away from relationships from her past. With a marked force, she pushed him away.

"Sam..."

Sam pressed his forehead against hers. His breathing completely haggard and laced with alcohol. He eyes filled with lust and want. His lips red and moist. Mercedes wanted nothing more than to continue with what they were doing... but that tug in the other direction was way too strong.

"Sammy... I'm so sorry. I can't do this."

Before Mercedes could see or hear him respond, she walked out of his hold and ran for it.

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><p>The next morning, Mercedes really could feel it.<p>

It wasn't just a hangover. The aftermath of alcohol only left her with a slight headache. What she was really feeling was guilt. Guilt over leading Sam on and completely messing up their friendship. There were so many mistakes and thoughts that she should have kept in check that night but she was swept away by the chaos of the the whole experience.

Everything following her exit from the club was a blur. She remembered telling Noelle that she wanted to go home. She remembered that she cried at one point. She remembered dreaming of being back in Sam's embrace again.

The next day, she felt suffocated by her thoughts. He was all she could think of. She decided to go outside and collect herself. She grabbed the book she was currently reading and bounded out of the dorm. Once she left the building, the bite of early winter's chill brought her back into focus. She needed to remember what was important in her life. Before all of this chaos, she was bent on concentrating on the future. She was taking leaps and bounds toward finding and achieving her career goals. She didn't want to be hindered by relationship issues.

That was it. She just needed to remember that.

While she was walking to the east campus fountain, she realized two things. First, it was too cold to be reading outside. Second, Sam could find her and try to talk to her. She didn't know if she was ready for that right now. There was so much to say but she didn't want to say it because she didn't want to hurt him.

Or maybe he wasn't hurt because it was just something he did when he was drunk. When she thought about that, she couldn't help but think that her own feelings would get hurt. Her connection to him felt genuine. Hearing that it wasn't so on his side would probably wound her a little.

As if on cue, she felt tap on her shoulder.

_Oh god... what do I say?_

Instead of the blonde boy that she was expecting, Mercedes turned around and faced the last person she thought she would see.

"Jeffery... what are you doing here?"

A/N: REVIEW PLEASE! They keep me going and help me a lot! Thank you so much for reading all the way up to this point!


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: As the story progresses, this is honestly is getting more difficult to write. I want to give you all a good quality story so I'm not just jotting it all down really fast. I write pretty slowly. But here it is! A little over a week after my last update, that's still pretty good given my record on other stories... amazing actually. Enjoy!

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><p>In the morning, Sam thought that he deserved every bit of that headache that he was feeling right now. He woke up and immediately remembered what had happened last night. He mentally kicked himself over and over again. His head felt like he had been doing that all night. What he did was completely out of line and it scared Mercedes away.<p>

She must think he was a drunken hormonal idiot that night.

But he couldn't help but think of what all led up to that moment. Well, first thing was first... she was _too damn sexy _that night. She was always beautiful but with that little black dress, the perfect curves of her body, that warm brown wavy hair, her scent, her eyes, her smile and... just everything. Damn it all, of course it wasn't hard to fall into temptation.

It was her actions too. He could have sworn that she got closer to him on purpose. First thing he knew was that he was staring at Mercedes from a few feet away. He just watched her ass sway in all kinds of ways that shouldn't be legal. He was barely paying attention to the girl from his English class who decided to talk to him. Then all of a sudden Mercedes was right in front of him. If he was barely able to keep his cool from a few feet away, resistance was futile when she was that close. He just let everything naturally take its course and before he knew it, he was completely against her.

His mind went completely blank when he felt her move against him. It was so familiar and yet it wasn't. It was like all of those moments long ago when he would make out with her and let his hands roam came back to him, but they were never this intimate. The feeling of her body completely intoxicated him.

It all felt unreal that Mercedes was there with him like this after so many years. He thought his feelings for her had completely disappeared like those of the other girls of his past, but what blew him away was how they had come back the moment he laid eyes on her again and how they continued to grow...

Sam snapped out of his thoughts when her hand reached for his neck and slowly moved down. He felt the warmth of her small hand, her nails lightly dragged against his skin. He short-circuited. He lost it. He wanted nothing more than to feel more of that skin against his. He bent over her shoulder and took her in scent. Under the floral note of her perfume, he recognized the scent that was just... Mercedes. The feeling of her skin under his lips was glorious. He never wanted to stop.

But he did stop when Sam realized that Mercedes grabbed his hand and dragged him away from the dance floor. He was still reeling from the moment but he couldn't help but wonder what she was doing. Was she taking him somewhere to talk to him about how he was being out of line? No. Mercedes turned around and the look in her eyes told him otherwise. Her beautiful brown eyes were slightly glassed over with want. It made him burn even more... and he let that fire take over once they made it to the end of the hall.

Sam could feel the vibration from her skirt pocket and she completely froze. It was strange whirlwind when she suddenly shoved him away, weakly said a few words, and ran away.

_"Sammy... I'm so sorry. I can't do this._"

The way she used his nickname with those words cut him in his core. Maybe he read her wrong. Maybe for that small moment when he thought they were on a same wavelength, it was just an illusion made by the influence of alcohol. She snapped back to her reality. That reality didn't have Sam as anything more than a friend. He overstepped his boundaries He violated her and now he broke the trust that they built together. He wouldn't be surprised if she didn't want to talk to him again... But he didn't want that to happen. He was going to fix this.

Sam sat up quickly in his bed. He had to hold his head for a moment so that the room would stop spinning.

Shit.

He laid back down and held his forehead.

Why did their relationship have to get destroyed like this?

Over these past few months, they were slowly building their friendship back to how it once was. It was becoming just as strong. They could completely trust each other. Mercedes was the only person that he could talk to about all of his fears, his dreams and aspirations without feeling insecure. Even if he did start to feel doubt, she encouraged him and gave him strength. It was natural that all of this would be the foundation on which he built his romantic feelings for her.

It was same way when they were in high school. He truly owed the world to her for helping him emotionally when no one else could. When financial, family, and relationship problems piled down on him, Mercedes pulled him out of it and gave him a new perspective. She made him forget about the weight of his problems. She was beautiful in every sense of the word...

Her spirit was beautiful.

By the time Nationals had come around, Sam couldn't deny his feelings for the girl. And he had a suspicion that she felt the same way. It was the way she smiled at him, the way she swatted his arm when he flirted with her, the gleam in her eye, the bite of her lip. Something had to be there.

He had to go for it. It was now or nothing. There was no more time for him to doubt it anymore. Forget what he said to Finn about how he would do it if he wasn't homeless. Not having a home wasn't an excuse. Mercedes taught him that. There was nothing to hold him back.

The day before Nationals everyone was planning on going out that night for dinner. Sam was ready to go and so he decided to pass by Mercedes' room to check up on her. When he got to her hotel room, two doors down from his, he noticed it was already cracked open, and he took it as an invitation to go ahead and open it. He quietly opened the door and looked around. He almost thought no one was there until he noticed someone hunched over some luggage, rummaging through clothes.

There she was.

Sam let go of the door which quietly closed shut on its own. He smirked as he tiptoed over to her, crouched right behind her, and suddenly grabbed her sides. She let out a loud shriek and nearly toppled over if it wasn't for Sam catching her. He had to fight the blush that was trying to grace his cheeks as he felt her back against his chest.

Mercedes clutched her chest as she stabilized herself and stepped out of his arms."Sam! You scared the hell out of me!"

"Well, that's good. Means you're that much more heavenly." Sam smirked at his own joke.

She rolled her eyes. "Just shut up, will you? I'm in the middle of figuring out what I should wear out. It's a tedious process." She went back to picking up and throwing blouses out of her luggage.

Sam sat down on the bed behind him and tilted his head. "Why?"

"Why what?" Mercedes sat back up.

"Why change clothes? You look great in what you're wearing already." Sam nodded at her red blouse and dark jeans.

Mercedes quirked an eyebrow. "You think so?"

"I think right." Sam nodded. Mercedes chuckled at him and went to the dresser to brush out her hair touch up her makeup.

Sam leaned back on the bed, propped himself up with his elbows, and watched Mercedes from the reflection on the mirror.

God, she was gorgeous no matter what she did. Dressed in pajamas with no makeup because Stevie and Stacey wanted to have a PJ movie night or clad in a full length fuchsia prom dress... she looked amazing in any way.

Mercedes got his full attention again when she spoke up as she applied her lip gloss. "Do you really think we're ready?"

Sam sat there for a moment before shrugging. "As ready as will ever be at this point." After all of the struggling they had gone through to write a song in such a little period of time had wiped them all out. He was just ready to get it out there and just perform the thing.

Mercedes sat down beside him and fiddled with her fingers in her lap. "I'm just really worried. We've come so far and to prepare like this... I just don't want to blow it." She laid down on the bed.

Sam laid down as well, staring up at the popcorn ceiling. "It'll be fine. I'm sure we'll make it. I mean, we've got some amazing voices on our team."

"You mean Rachel." Mercedes said flatly.

"No, I mean Mercedes."

They sat in silence for a moment until Mercedes said in a soft voice, "I... don't really think I have what it takes. I'm always put in the background. I'm always turned down on the big solos. There must be a reason for it. Maybe I'm not as good as I think I am and nobody bothered to tell me."

It tore at Sam's heart to hear her like that. She always the one full of confidence in herself. She was the one who gave confidence in himself. There was just no way he was hearing this right.

"Cedes... that's not true at all. Your talent is seriously off-the-charts. Do you realize how much you move people when you sing? You make people cry, heck, you make people pay for this whole trip for us... You make people forget that their lives are a mess in those few minutes. You make worthless people want to be something better. You make them remember what's important in their lives. You... make their hearts race, their palms sweat, make it hard to breathe, their stomachs feel like they're filled with those cliché butterflies...

Sam swallowed. "You make them fall in love with you..."

"Sammy..." He could hear her voice crack and finally turned his head to face her. She was laying here facing him, her hair splayed out in flowing waves, her warm brown eyes brimming with tears. "Do you really think that happens when I sing?"

Sam realized that tears were threatening to leave his eyes as well. Without realizing it, he just poured his whole heart out to Mercedes. It was always filled with love for her. It was just a matter of time before it would tip over. Now was the moment.

It was now or never.

He propped himself back up on one elbow, turned and leaned over her, resting his other elbow on her other side. He leaned down so that his face was inches above hers. Her breath hitched. The sight made his heart stop for a moment. He never was this close to her face before. Now he could see the beautiful curve of her eyes, the cute slope of her nose, every groove on her lips that was hidden behind her lip gloss.

Now or never.

"Cedes, you're always doing things like that... at least to me." His words left him in a whisper. With her eyes trained on him in a deep connection with his, there was nothing left but to close the gap between their lips.

Years after that moment, it never failed to make his heart skip. Laying on his own bed alone, his head pounding, Sam bit his lip as he recalled the feeling of her lips. Soft, warm, full... as if they were made to fit against his.

He could have felt them again last night... but he ruined it.

Completely destroyed it.

No... well, yeah you did but you can fix it... or at least try to.

Sam threw himself out of bed, grabbed at his drawer for some aspirin, and went to get dressed. About thirty minutes later, he stepped out of his dorm into the cold and walked in the direction of Mercedes' dorm. He had no idea what he would say but he had to make some attempt at patching this up by telling her that it wasn't his intention to cross that line, that their friendship meant too much for him to treat it like a worthless fling. What he did was wrong. Completely wrong.

He walked staring at the cobblestones as they passed with each step and tried to come up with some cohesive thoughts that would persuade Mercedes to forgive and forget. But he immediately froze when he heard the voice of the very girl that he wanted to see.

"Jeffery... why are you here?" Sam slowly peered around the tall bush. He could see Mercedes' back clad in a purple sweater. Sam leaned to the side slightly to see that there was a tall dark skinned guy with a short cropped haircut standing in front of him. The guy was intimidating with his stature that slightly towered over Sam's. He made Mercedes look pretty small.

"Baby, I've been looking all over for you." This guy said with a soft smile. So this guy is her boyfriend? Sam felt his heart drop.

"Well, I haven't been looking for you." Mercedes said coldly. Well, on second thought, it doesn't seem like he was. An ex, more likely.

Jeffery stepped closer. "Why have you been ignoring my calls and texts?"

"I don't see any reason for us to talk." Mercedes crossed her arms.

Jeffery sighed. "Can't we just forget all of that stuff in the past and just focus on the present? I graduated with that extra summer semester and so I moved... near here! Isn't that great? I can come see you... maybe you can come move in with me." He stepped closer and touched her arm.

Mercedes threw his arm off. "Now why the HELL would I want that? Huh? Why would I want you to have anything to do with my life?" The look on her face was of pure anger.

The smile on Jeffery's face dropped leaving an almost stern look. "Mercy..."

"Don't call me that. You're not allowed to call me that after all you've done to me." Mercedes stepped back.

"I didn't mean to-"

"Yeah, you did."

Jeffery took a deep breath. "You're testing my patience..." He grabbed her arm again.

"Is this what you wanted? To come to me to test your patience? Test your anger? For me to be your punching bag again?" Mercedes tried to throw his arm off again but he held on tight.

"I came back to get what we had again."

"Well, I don't want it!" Mercedes nearly screamed and thrashed more.

"Mercedes, listen to me!" His voice getting more aggravated.

"NO!" She tried to push against him.

"MERCY!"

Sam couldn't take anymore of this. From the beginning he was already pissed at the guy. Now this was too much. He rushed out from behind the bush, grabbed Jeffery's hand, pried it open, and pushed at his chest. The taller boy stumbled a few feet.

"Get off her, she doesn't want you touching her!" Sam was shocked by his own scream. He could feel that his face was red with anger.

Jeffery's face showed a similar expression. "And why do you have a say in this? Who are YOU?" He looked at Mercedes who simply opened and closed her mouth. "Your new BOYFRIEND?"

Sam spoke up. "I don't need to be her boyfriend to see that you were invading her personal space." He couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt. It wasn't like he was innocent of that offense. "She doesn't want you here. She clearly never wanted to talk to you." He could recall the multiple times within the past few weeks when she ignored calls.

"She doesn't know what she wants right now." Jeffery shook his head.

"Yes, I do. I do know what I want. And what I want is for you to leave and never let me see your face here ever again." Mercedes said dangerously. Sam gave Jeffery a piercing glare and stepped forward to make sure he did just that.

Jeffery's lip twitched in almost a snarl. "Girl, you will want me back. Trust me. And I will come back for you." He turned on his heel and walked away.

Sam took deep breaths to calm himself. He could tell from the corner of his eye that Mercedes was doing the same. He turned to her and his heart broke when he realized that he could see fear in her tear-brimmed eyes.

"Cedes..." Sam began but he honestly didn't know what to say.

"He was my boyfriend back at Byrnes." Mercedes started coldly. "I started dating him freshman year, second semester. I didn't really like the school and I'll be honest, he was one of the reasons I stayed even though I told people it was because of my scholarships there." She wrapped her sweater tightly around herself. "Sophomore year, it was like he changed... or maybe he decided to show his real side. But he would get angry easily. If I talked back at him, even if it was just a little comment, he would lash out at me. One day I got sick of it. I yelled and ranted back at him. Told him exactly what was on my mind... He hit me. Really hard. I fell and got this." She rolled up her sleeve to show a four inch scar on the inside of her upper arm. "Even after that, he didn't let up. He never hit me again but you could just tell that he wanted to. I had to leave that place... to do what I should have done even before I met him and leave. I was distracted and I got my punishment for it."

Sam felt himself get cold. Why would anyone treat such a beautiful, amazing woman like that? There was no way she deserved it. He never wanted Mercedes to experience that pain again... any kind of pain. He wanted to protect her from a whole world of pain. He cautiously stepped toward her, wanting to wrap her in a hug but he wasn't sure that he would be allowed to.

"Last night..." Mercedes blurted out. Sam froze in shock. "Last night... I don't know if you felt anything from it... but I did." His heart skipped. "I guess those feelings that I had for you in high school never went away. And I found them again when I started getting close to you here. You're the same Sammy that I cared about back then."

Sam opened his mouth to respond. She interrupted, "But there's no way I can act on those feelings."

"Cedes, I feel the same wa-" He started.

"Did you see that, Sam? What he was like? I CAN'T DO IT. Sam, I know you're not like him. You're nothing like him. But what he did to me... I may not have broken bones but he left me _broken_." Mercedes' voice cracked. "Yeah, the strong diva, Mercedes Patrice Jones is broken. I am so much better than I was before... but there are still parts of me that hurt. I can't look back on that past. I have to focus on my future and my future only. Absolutely no distractions..."

Mercedes stepped closer to Sam, held his face, and softly brushed his cheek with her thumb. She was so close that he could feel her warm breath.

"And you're my biggest distraction." She let go and walked away.

It wasn't until she was out of sight that he released a breath that he was holding. Mercedes had every reason to push him away. Her trust in a significant other was completely broken. He couldn't argue with her about it. It wasn't just a matter of him proving his love to her again. He could give her love but there was no guarantee she was ready to receive it.

Sam sniffed and looked up at the hazy gray sky. He wasn't allowed to love her... at least not now. But he sure as hell was going to protect her.

Mercedes was going to heal completely. Sam was going to make sure of it.

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><p>AN: You guys have no idea how PIVOTAL comments are at this point! I need you all to let me know what you think so it will help me continue the story! I'm serious! IT'S IMPORTANT! Thank you so much for reading all of this story! I really appreciate it.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Yes, I know it took forever for me to update but it was just a really slow process with work and other distractions. I've learned that handwriting my chapters has got me a lot farther and typing. Maybe it will help me along with the next one! Comments are going to help me SO MUCH with how this story progresses! It really will! Keep that in mind while you read! Enjoy!

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><p>Mercedes leaned against the kitchen window that framed what looked like a picturesque Christmas scene. Houses blanketed in snow, decorations behind windows that glowed with warm light. She could feel the chill from outside on her shoulder and her temple that pressed against the cold glass. The rest of her body was enveloped by the warmth of the house and the mug of hot chocolate in her hands.<p>

It was a perfect Christmas moment, but for some reason she felt... like something was missing. The warmth that relieved her from the winter's cold usually brought her that familiar Christmas cheer, but it was as if that warmth didn't suffice. She closed her eyes trying to focus on that feeling...

All of a sudden she felt the sensation of two arms wrapping around her from behind, a chin resting lightly on her shoulder. A smile lightly graced her face.

"Hey Mercy..."

Mercedes' smile grew. "Yes, Quinn?" She opened her eyes and turned to the head resting on her shoulder.

"The gingerbread cookies are in the oven and your best friends want your attention now." The blonde chuckled.

"Mercedes!" The boy wearing a green and red fedora nearly barked. "Were you even listening to what I was saying for the past two minutes?"

Mercedes turned to give Kurt a wary smile. "Um... you said something about the mall?"

Kurt sighed exasperatedly. "I was talking about something that _happened _at the mall."

"What happened?" Mercedes walked over to the kitchen island and seated herself on a bar stool. Quinn closely followed.

"Well, I was going to get to that, but then I realized you weren't listening." Kurt rolled his eyes as he grabbed a candy cane and used it to stir his hot chocolate.

"It's not like she needed to listen. You took a long time to get to your point which we still haven't gotten to by the way." Quinn spoke up sardonically as she dipped a finger in the green icing bowl.

"Just setting the scene because that's what I do." Kurt gave a half-shrug.

Mercedes leaned in further against the marble counter. "So you went to the mall... and?"

Kurt planted both hands on the counter top and gave them both a pointed gaze. "Guess who I saw?"

"Santa Claus."

The boy waved the joke away. "Blaine."

The girls simply shared a look. "And?" Mercedes pressed on.

Kurt's blue eyes darted from Mercedes to the floor. "Um, he came up to me. We talked a little... He's moving to New York for an internship... we wants to meet me at Lima Bean for coffee so we can catch up some more..."

Mercedes and Quinn remained quiet for a moment. From the look on Kurt's face, it seemed like he was having a conversation with himself.

Kurt cautiously began again as he looked at the two girls in front of him. "So... This is where I let my friends go ahead and talk about what I just said."

Quinn gave him a faint smile. "What do you want us to say?"

Kurt opened his mouth for a moment before anything managed to come out. "I don't know. I guess... you should tell me whether or not it's a good thing."

Mercedes shrugged. "Well, I don't see how meeting him and catching up could be a bad thing. Why would it be a bad thing?"

Kurt shifted restlessly in his seat. "I... guess it isn't."

Quinn tucked a hair behind her ear as she raised an eyebrow. "Then why are you feeling uncomfortable about it?"

"I'm not." Kurt quickly countered.

"Yes, you are." Quinn fired back. "Why would you want our advice if this wasn't an issue?"

"I guess I'm nervous about it." Kurt stared at his nails.

"Because you still like him." She quipped bluntly.

Kurt leaned back startled. "I didn't say that! I mean, we have history but-"

"You two didn't resolve your relationship."

"We did... I think."

"No, you didn't."

Kurt threw his hands up in the air. "Jeez, Quinn, why are you stuffing words in my mouth?"

Quinn tossed her hair nonchalantly over her shoulder. "Look, I'm trying to help you out. You know I went through a lot in my life. And I've learned that beating around the bush is just a waste of time. Clearly you have a problem with this and bringing it up means you want our honest opinion."

Kurt rested his head in his hand as he mulled over the words. "You're right... I guess I'm really nervous. Maybe... just maybe... when I see him and really get to talking to him again that the feelings will come back. You never know."

"And what's so bad about that?" Quinn tilted her head.

Kurt didn't answer as he got lost in his own thoughts. Mercedes looked on at her best friend with an uneasy feeling. Whatever he was thinking, she felt a bit of déjà vu herself... an ex suddenly comes back into your life and you don't know where to go from there. You want to act like there is nothing to it... but there is. It's treading into dangerous territory. Something that is familiar but unknown. It could fail again and go crashing down, even harder than before. For Mercedes, walls were built up and she didn't feel ready to tear them down just yet. Could she ever let anyone in again?

Mercedes ran a thumb over the scar on her arm. From her peripheral, she noticed Quinn move closer to her and squeeze her hand. Mercedes looked at her friend who simply gazed back at her. In silence, her eyes simply reflected what she wanted to tell her. Soon after Mercedes had that encounter with Jeffery, she talked to her best friends about it. Although Quinn couldn't relate, she did understand Mercedes' sudden loss in the ability to trust. Mercedes didn't have the heart to tell her parents about this problem yet, so Quinn and Kurt were all she had.

But now Sam knew about it too.

_You're my biggest distraction._

Upon reflection, she realized that she left him with those words and didn't bother hearing a reply. Not that she ever sought him out for it. In the remaining weeks of the semester, she practically ignored him. It wasn't until the last week that she mustered up the courage to acknowledge him. Sam seemed to respect the distance that she requested. Other than giving her a smile when they were passing by, he made no move to force his presence on her.

But sometimes she wish he did...

Mercedes had gone years without him, but now not talking to him on a daily basis left her with that odd feeling that something was missing. Just talking to him for a few minutes or sitting with him at their usual coffee table did something to complete her day. She couldn't help but think about that one fall day when they just sat silently on her favorite bench. Just being there... together.

But she knew she did it for a reason. She knew that she was walking a fine line with him, especially after that night at the club. They knew they were attracted to each other. Feelings still remained. And that was the problem.

As much as she hated to admit it right now, she was pretty vulnerable at this point. Broken was her own word for it. She wasn't ready to put herself out there just yet. She wanted to be able to stand on her own two feet, not have to seek the comfort of a man in an attempt to heal the wounds that another man gave her. She was vulnerable but that didn't mean she was weak and incapable of making herself strong. She was determined to become stronger than before. She wanted her wounds to become an advantage. But she wasn't quite there yet.

How long would it take? What would it take?

Mercedes looked up to meet Kurt's gaze. From the gleam in his blue eyes, she could tell the focus wordlessly shifted to her. Quinn and Kurt clearly were giving her their vow as her friends that they would be there for her no matter what she decided to do. No doubt that she would do the same.

With her free hand that was not in Quinn's grasp, she reached across to hold Kurt's hand. "I say going to see Blaine wouldn't hurt. But it's up to you, hun. You know that if anything goes wrong, you always have us." Quinn nodded in agreement as Kurt weaved his fingers through Mercedes'.

"I know..."

A couple hours later, her friends said their goodbyes so they could spend the rest of their limited time at home with their families. Mercedes currently was in an empty house because her parents were out doing their own Christmas shopping. At times like these, an empty house in the winter, she went to her reading nook in the upstairs common room. The comfy sitting area by the tall window was the perfect place to just bury herself in blankets and curl up with a good book and a cup of hot chocolate.

She was planning on moving on to other British literature that she was missing out on during her incredibly busy week, but something in her school bag that she brought home caught her eye.

Sam's manuscript.

She promised Sam that she would continue reading his manuscript and give him feedback. She wasn't sure she could keep her promise, at least not right now, not given the current status of their relationship. But she convinced herself that reading it didn't change anything about that. At least she could fulfill a part of the promise now. It wasn't much of an obligation anyway considering that she thoroughly enjoyed his writing even from the first chapter. School kept her from continuing it but now there was nothing stopping her now.

With the glow of a winter's day lighting the reading nook, Mercedes opened the manuscript and began to read. A smile never left her mouth. She was swept back into the story right from where she left off.

It was detailed, in-depth. It was an epic story that took the reader far away into another world. At the same time, she felt some sort of familiarity. It was as if he was telling her the story himself just as he did when he narrated his favorite super hero story. As she read she could imagine Sam telling it to her. It was amazing that someone with dyslexia could write such a phenomenal story. Then again, dyslexia didn't hinder one's imagination. It certainly did not hinder his.

Sam was going places, she was sure of it. Now she could truly empathize with him. Why was he being limited to some other path when he had a whole world of potential elsewhere?

An hour later, she was still rooted to that very spot, this time with the edge of her blanket lifted under her eyes leering intensely at the page in front of her. She bit nervously at the fabric as her eyes flew quickly over the words. They were probably not going fast enough for her liking because she was so eager to know what was going to happen. What the hell was going to happen in the end?

_Ding dong._

She was dragged out of the imaginary world by the loud noise echoing in the empty house. Mercedes let out a long sigh, very reluctant to leave the comfort of her warm blanket.

She quickly descended the stairs hoping she wasn't keeping her visitor waiting. She figured that it was a neighbor or a family friend coming to drop off gifts for the Jones family. But when she grabbed the doorknob and threw the door open, she wasn't prepared for who was standing before her.

"Hey, Cede."

The big smile she had at the ready slowly slid away from her face at the sight of the very familiar blonde. His crooked smile grew as hers faded.

Sam chuckled. "Not who you were expecting, huh?"

"No, I..." Mercedes stumbled. "Why are you in Lima?"

"Oh, that..." He stuffed his hands into pockets of his brown leather jacket. "My family is visiting my aunt in Kentucky not too far away from here. I decided to take the opportunity to visit my..." He lifted his eyes to meet hers, "...friends."

"Ah..." She nodded. "Did you see some of the others?"

Sam leaned against the door frame and crossed his arms. "Yeah, I saw Mike and went to Finn and Kurt's for a little bit."

Kurt. She left her phone on vibrate in the kitchen. He must have left her a text message about this. Not that it mattered anymore.

"So..." Mercedes struggled to keep the conversation going.

"So... um," Sam bit his lip before continuing. "It's winter break. So I was wondering...if I could distract you for a little while." A small smirk played on his face.

Mercedes felt her heart jump. "What? What do you mean?"

Sam gave her a half-shrug, "I know it's pretty cold out, but I was wondering if you would like to take a walk with me. You know, at the park. Like we used to do."

_Distract you for a little while. _Mercedes continued to dwell on it before, she gave her answer. "I... guess so." What else could she do? "Come in for a while. I need to pick up my coat."

Once they set off for the park, they fell into casual conversation, how their semester ended, what they were going to do in the next semester, how their families were. Mercedes couldn't help but marvel at how easy it was. None of the awkwardness that she dreaded. It was like nothing changed. It relieved her and yet it unnerved her.

In her attempt to keep that thought at bay, Mercedes realized there was something she meant to talk to him about. She unthinkingly swatted him in the arm. "That manuscript! It's so amazing, Sammy!"

Sam looked up from his arm that she hit. "Really? You think so? You're still reading it?" His face lit up.

"Yeah, I was about to finish it before you rudely interrupted me twenty minutes ago." Mercedes nudged him. She made a quick note to herself to stop touching him. She'd be sending him the wrong signals. "I'm serious when I think you need to try to get this published! I'm positive that someone will pick it up!"

"Positive?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Yes. Positive." Mercedes looked at him pointedly. "It would be a waste if you didn't."

Sam scoffed. "But people say it would be such a waste if I didn't go to the NFL."

Mercedes stopped walking and stepped in front of him. "In the end of the day, whose happiness depends on this decision? Yours. Not theirs. Sure, people are going to talk about it for a little while, but you will look back on your life thinking 'did I do the right thing?'"

Sam let out a long breath, letting her words silently hang in the air. His green eyes pierced through her holding her to her spot. A small smile grew on his face, and then he let out a quiet laugh.

"What's so funny?" Mercedes suddenly felt self-conscious about what she just said.

"Nothing. It's just that" Sam looked back up at her, the amusement leaving his eyes. "you're amazing, you know that?"

Mercedes could almost feel the weight of those words literally take hold of her. It completely paralyzed her.

The silence made its presence known.

Sam seemed to notice how those words affected her. His eyes flew off of her and on to the scenery of the snow covered park. She didn't realize that they arrived until now.

"It's been a long time. Last time I was here, it definitely wasn't covered in snow." Sam mused.

No, it wasn't. It was summer. _That _summer. _Their summer._

Their eyes rested on the tallest tree in the park.

Sam would joke that the tree was like the home tree from Avatar, that they connected to it somehow. The observation never failed to earn him a diva eye roll.

"Stop swaying like that, you dork butt!" Mercedes kicked Sam's thigh with her ballet flat clad foot. "You can't talk to the tree that way. You're just going to make everyone in this park think that you're ready for the asylum!" She threw her head back laughing heartily.

Sam made a face as he tipped over with this warms flailing and fell on the dense green grass. "Thanks for being a killjoy!" He chuckled and crawled back onto the blanket they laid out and flopped on his stomach next to Mercedes. "But for your information sitting under here, closing your eyes and focusing isn't so pointless."

Mercedes sat up, propping herself up with her elbows. "Oh really?"

"Yeah really." Sam nodded. "This is my thinking tree. When I have the time and I just want to get my mind off of things, I come here and... think."

"Think about what?"

"About.." Sam's eyes shifted nervously. "I think up stories."

"Stories? Like you make up stories?"

The blonde avoided looking at her, a blush rising on his cheeks. She knew about his dorky tendencies but this was a whole other level. So he was really surprised when she started talking again instead of just giving him a judgmental stare.

"I do that too. Well, I used to when I was ten. I thought up this whole story about how I was in a royal family from another galaxy that somehow got stuck on Earth and was wiped of their memory, but somehow we were getting those memories back and were planning on returning to our kingdom out in space." She realized she was spewing out a memory that normally she would have considered to be social suicide, but from the look on Sam's face, it seemed like she was the coolest person in existence.

"Yeah! Stories like that!" Sam smiled brightly.

"What were yours about?" Mercedes laid back down, her head resting on her big purse.

"I've made quite a few of them but..." He quickly sat up. "I've got one." He reached across her to grab something from the bag that held snacks for the kids and themselves.

"Okay." He crouched down close to Mercedes' side. "Once upon a time there was this boy named Samwise."

"Samwise?" Mercedes raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that from another story?"

Sam held a hand up. "Questions are for after the story. Work with me here!"

"Okay, okay fine. Go on."

"So this Samwise guy traveled from a far away land in hopes to find fortune and fame and even friendship..." Sam brought out an animal cracker and placed it on Mercedes' stomach pretending like it was trotting along.

Mercedes laughed at his little makeshift play. "Samwise is a giraffe?"

"No! Samwise rides a giraffe!" Sam retorted in mock agitation. "It's way cooler than a horse. Anyway, he eventually finds all that he wants. All the citizens of the land know his name, he holds a place of honor in the royal court, he even had a beautiful maiden of that court. He thought that life was perfect... but suddenly everything was taken away from him..."

"How?" Mercedes look at Sam, searching his features.

He looked back at her and smiled solemnly, "He never found out. Could have been some evil magic, could have been just life screwing him over.

"So..." The giraffe cracker trekked higher up her stomach. "Samwise, in a deep state of depression wandered aimlessly trying to search for some hope, any kind of hope that he could hold on to. He traveled mountains so tall." Sam smirked as the giraffe trotted up Mercedes' right breast causing her to giggle madly. "And valleys low..."

"Sam!" Mercedes held back a squeal and weakly slapped his arm as it basically went down her cleavage.

He ignored her protests and continued. "And over more mountains!" The cookie trotted over her left breast down the slope to her collarbone. "It was during these aimless travels that he found what he least expected... a mystical being of sorts. But he liked to call her his guardian angel." Sam's eyes lifted to meet her. "She helped him see his worth even without all of the fame and fortune. She was a true friend to him... and so he fell in love with her." He touched the little giraffe muzzle to Mercedes' lips.

Mercedes couldn't say a word. Her chest clenched so tightly that she was worried tears might start forming in her eyes. _He fell in love with her._

Sam chuckled and threw the animal cracker into his mouth. "Okay, so that wasn't one of my best stories. They're usually are more developed and don't sound like a kids' fairyta-" He was cut off by a pair of soft full lips that flew onto his. Before he could think to respond, Mercedes pulled back slightly to that she could look at him straight in the eye.

"You're amazing, you know that?" She whispered before slowly leaning back in for another kiss.

A chilly breeze brought Mercedes out of the summer memory. She turned to Sam. His hands stuffed in his pockets, his eyes looked unfocused as he gazed into the distance yet they had a mischievous glint to them. His lips, especially red from the cold, were formed in the ghost of his lopsided grin. These past few years did a lot for him, but the things about him that were burned into her memory remained unchanging. He was the same boy she loved that summer.

Deep in her thoughts, Mercedes didn't realize that he already turned and was looking back at her. "It's amazing how coming back to a place can bring back so many memories." He said quietly.

Maybe he was thinking the same thing. Mercedes could help but smile at the thought. "Yeah, it is amazing."

A few weeks later, Mercedes was at Richter trying to get back into the routine of her spring semester. Of course she was dreading the workload that was about to pile on, but the one thing that she could look forward to was being with her closest friends for Goldtones rehearsals. Throughout her break, she kept in contact with Tiffany thinking up some awesome numbers that they could use for their upcoming performances. She was more than ready to share it with the rest of the group.

Andrew spun around the piano bench and spoke up over the chatter in the choir room. "So! Are we going to start any time soon?"

Tiffany laughed. "Yes, we are going to start." With that, everyone took their seats at the stools formed in a circle. "Thanks for stepping up, Andrew."

He winked back, "Someone has to if the leader isn't going to."

"Shut ya pie hole, I got this... So welcome back guys! Everyone ready for this semester?"

"Not really." Joey coughed and few others nodded.

"Well, whether you're going to be a super senior or not, _Joey_, it doesn't really matter here, but I can assure you guys that the Goldtones are going to bring it even harder than before. Mercedes and I thought up some amazing song lists. Do you have them, Mercedes?"

Mercedes smiled brightly, "Of course, right here." As she reached down for her bag on the floor, the door loudly creaked open, she continued to search through her bag figuring it was another member coming in late.

"Oh." Tiffany began. "Hey... You looking for someone?"

"No." Mercedes froze at the sound of the voice then suddenly whipped up and turned around.

There stood Sam by the door with a bright smile on his face. "I was wondering if you guys did open auditions." He pointed to the guitar strapped to his back.

Oh god... what was he thinking?

* * *

><p>AN: Plain & Simple. Reviews=Lifeblood! They're greatly appreciated!


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